Do you like the iPhone? It may be the only one you can get for a while.

By: William Sikkens
Host, User Friendly 2.0 Saturday’s at 5:00 p.m.

Do you like the iPhone?  It may be the only one you can get for a while.

You may have heard about the international microchip shortage.  This has been something that has been affecting a number of sectors  most especially car manufacturers.

While that particular shortage is starting to clear up, there are a number of other industries that are reporting shortages.  It’s still very difficult to find new gaming consoles and other technologies like that.  These problems are being blamed, at least partially, on the chip shortage.

So far smartphone manufactures have weathered this well but are starting to report supply problems.  Most manufacturers order their supplies about 6 months in advance but now are starting to run low on stockpiles.

According to the WSJ, Samsung Electronics experienced a 20% drop in shipments after having problems sourcing key parts.  Google announced it’s Pixel 5a 5G phone would be only available in the U.S. and Japan.

We are also seeing a rise in the cost of devices because the cost of the parts are increasing.  Between March and now there has been an increase of about 8% on many devices.

There is one company that the supply shortage doesn’t seem to be effecting and that’s Apple.  iPhones account for about one-sixth of the 1.3 billion smartphones sold each year.  Industry analysts are saying that Apple hasn’t had any trouble, as least not yet.

According to the WSJ, Cliff Maldonado, principal analyst at Baystreet Research LLC said “If you have limited chips, where will you put them?  The ones that give you the most profit.”  This statement means that priority is given to those devices that will return the most profit.  This puts needs like infrastructure or other needed equipment in second position if something else can make more money.

It is estimated that chip supply will begin to resume to normal output in the second quarter of 2022.   Until then be careful with your smartphone or be prepared to pay up or possibly settle for one that is different from what you have or truly want.

William (Bill) Sikkens has been an on-air technology expert since 2014. With an expertise in I.T., cyber security and software design he has had more than 20 years’ experience with advanced technology. Sikkens conceptualizes and designs custom applications for many professional industries from health care to banking and has the ability to explain the details in a way all can understand.  Article edited by Gretchen Winkler, who along with Jeremy Winkler are the co-hosts of User Friendly 2.0 here on The Answer Saturday’s at 5:00 p.m.

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Got a technology question or comment for Bill? Follow him on Twitter @sikkensw