The global chipset shortage is hurting the supply of lower-cost Android phones in the US, a new report from Wave7 Research says, with US carrier stores reporting that Samsung and OnePlus are particularly hard hit.
“Sources have told Wave7 Research that Apple was able to lock down chipset supply well ahead of time. This was not the case for other OEMs,” says Jeff Moore, principal at Wave7. Wave7 produces monthly reports on the US mobile-phone market based on surveys of retailers.
Qualcomm, which provides the main chipsets in almost all Samsung and OnePlus phones in the US, as well as the modems in iPhones, said in late July that demand for its chips was outstripping supply, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The shortage is “uneven by carrier, channel, and even by store,” the Wave7 report says. AT&T is least affected, but only because AT&T has the most iPhone-heavy customer base. At T-Mobile, the shortage is affecting “everybody but Apple,” a store manager told Wave7.
Good Luck Getting a Cheap Phone
The Wave7 report makes it clear that while Samsung’s market share may be down, that doesn’t mean demand for Samsung products is down. It’s just that Apple isn’t having the same supply problems as other manufacturers.
“iPhone share overall did not fall in July, as might be expected ahead of a September iPhone launch,” the report says. “Ongoing iPhone 12 resilience and issues with Samsung inventory were the top factors for this.”
Samsung’s problems aren’t happening with its flagships. The Galaxy S21 and S21 Ultra are still selling well, the report says. Rather, Verizon is out of stock of the Galaxy A02s, the Note 20, the Galaxy A01, the Galaxy A21 and the Galaxy A51, the report says. One of Wave7’s sources said Samsung was prioritizing production of higher-end devices for the US over A-series phones.
“The Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy S21 Ultra were the top sellers for Samsung in the July survey,” the report says.
OnePlus Hits Highest Market Share Ever
The shortage may also slow OnePlus’ swift rise to glory. The OnePlus Nord N200 was the No. 1 seller at Metro in July, and OnePlus share grew to around 20% there in July. But its share fell to 10% in August “amid short supply of certain OnePlus devices.”
The unevenness of the shortages makes the story very muddy. OnePlus phones may be in short supply at Metro, but it’s apparently easier to get OnePlus than Samsung phones at T-Mobile. That has helped OnePlus share at T-Mobile reach 8%, an all-time high.
“The shortage of Samsung phones has helped cement OnePlus’ position as the top Android alternative,” the report says.
Samsung supply may be “bumpy” for the rest of 2021, the report says.
“The current volatility of the semiconductor market is being felt across the entire technology industry and beyond. At Samsung, we are making our best efforts to mitigate the impact, and will continue to work diligently with our partners to overcome supply challenges,” the company told us in a statement. OnePlus declined to comment.
