[eMarketer] Global smartphone market dip on shortages

Global smartphone shipments slipped 6% in Q3 2021, per Canalys—and market dynamics are shifting as vendors navigate component shortages and struggle to meet demand.

“The chipset famine has truly arrived,” said Canalys principal analyst Ben Stanton as various component shortages impact smartphone makers heading into the most profitable year-end quarter.

With component stockpiles depleting, the gap between orders and semiconductor deliveries has hit a record 21.7 weeks, per Susquehanna International Group.

According to eMarketer, the number of new device models launched in the first half of 2021 declined 18% YoY to 310, per Counterpoint.

Given that the effects of the shortage are expected to intensify, scarcity and price increases will likely get worse long before they start to get better.

Smartphone vendors are trying various strategies to contend with the component shortages.

This includes delaying or cancelling product launches, slashing production, or implementing last-minute changes to devices to fulfill volume capacity per Canalys.

Canalys adds that smartphone channel inventories are already running low, and as more customers start to anticipate these sales cycles, the impending wave of demand will be impossible to fulfill.

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