Samsung may skip the Galaxy Note this year
Samsung Electronics has warned that it may not be able to ship the Galaxy Note in 2021 after all, citing the difficulties in launching two major phones in one year, in comments at the annual shareholder meeting reported by Bloomberg.
The company said it is grappling with the repercussions of a serious semiconductor disruption in the world, to become the largest tech giant expressing its concerns about the lack of chips outside the automotive industry.
Koh Dong-jin, co-CEO, said at the annual shareholder meeting in Seoul: Samsung, one of the world's largest manufacturers of chips and consumer electronics, expects the crisis to pose a problem for its business in the next quarter.
The company is also considering skipping the launch of the new Galaxy Note - one of its best-selling models - this year, although Jin said it was aimed at streamlining its lineup.
“There is a serious imbalance in the supply and demand for chips in the global IT sector,” said Jin, who oversees the company's IT and mobile devices departments.
“Despite the difficult environment, our business leaders are meeting with partners abroad to solve these problems, and it is difficult to say that the shortage problem has been 100 percent resolved,” he added.
The co-CEO said Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, is working with overseas partners to resolve the defects and avoid potential setbacks for its business.
Jin said: The Galaxy Note series has been positioned as an advanced model in our portfolio, and the unveiling of two major models may be a burden within a year, so it may be difficult to release the Note model in the second half of the year, and the timing of the Note model launch could change, but we are trying to release Note model next year.
The Galaxy Note release this year was far from a sure thing, as Samsung indicated plans to bring the main stylus feature to more phones in its Galaxy lineup, sparking speculation that the line may end.
However, according to a report by Yonhap Agency, Samsung is still preparing to release a new Note phone in 2021.