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Tag: chip shortage

  • TSMC: Chip Shortages Won’t Ease Until 2023

    TSMC: Chip Shortages Won’t Ease Until 2023

    TSMC has delivered further bad news on the semiconductor shortage, predicting supplies chain tightness won’t completely ease until 2023.

    The world is experiencing a significant shortage of semiconductors, with multiple industries currently being impacted. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has warned the shortage could last a couple of years, and now TSMC has issued a similar assessment.

    TSMC specializes in manufacturing semiconductors for partner companies, and is the premier chipmaker for Apple. The company also makes chips for Qualcomm, Alphabet, AMD, NVIDIA and Huawei, and will make the i3 for Intel.

    According to Bloomberg, TSMC believes shortages will begin to ease for the auto industry next quarter, but the overall industry will continue to experience shortages throughout the rest of the year and into next.

    “We see the demand continue to be high,” CEO C.C. Wei said. “In 2023, I hope we can offer more capacity to support our customers. At that time, we’ll start to see the supply chain tightness release a little bit.”

  • Intel Plans to Make Chips for the Auto Industry

    Intel Plans to Make Chips for the Auto Industry

    Intel is planning to make chips for the auto industry, with the first chips being made in the next six to nine months.

    The auto industry has been hit especially hard by the global chip shortage, resulting in shutdowns and slowed production. GM has even resorted to shipping trucks without their full complement of fuel management chips, leading the 2021 models to get 1 MPG less than they should.

    Intel is hoping to help alleviate that shortage, and is in talks with auto chip makers to use the company’s factories for production. The company had previously announced plans to open two chip factories in Arizona, with plans to use them for manufacturing semiconductors for its clients.

    According to Reuters, Intel is not waiting for the new factories to be opened, and will dedicate some of its existing factory resources — specifically in Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, Israel and Ireland — to helping the auto industry.

    “We’re hoping that some of these things can be alleviated, not requiring a three- or four-year factory build, but maybe six months of new products being certified on some of our existing processes,” CEO Pat Gelsinger said. “We’ve begun those engagements already with some of the key components suppliers.”

    Given the Biden administration’s focus on easing the semiconductor crisis, Intel will likely have whatever support it needs to make its plans a reality.

  • MacBook Pro and iPad Pro Facing Delays Due to Chip Shortage

    MacBook Pro and iPad Pro Facing Delays Due to Chip Shortage

    Apple may be delaying production of the highly-anticipated MacBook Pro and iPad Pro amid a global semiconductor shortage.

    The coronavirus pandemic sparked a series of events that have led to a severe shortages of chips. At the outset, production was hurt as companies were forced to shut down their factories due to lockdown measures. As the pandemic drug on, however, stay-at-home orders and remote work helped drive a significant increase in demand for computers, gaming consoles and tablets.

    Companies in many industries have been experiencing the impact of the chip shortage. Some automakers have had to halt production due to the shortage, and some vehicles are shipping without the usual slate of chips, impacting their long-term fuel mileage.

    The shortage may now be impacting Apple’s upcoming products, according to Nikkei Asia, causing production delays for the upcoming MacBook Pro and iPad Air. Apple is expected to be on the verge of releasing a MacBook Pro 16”, as well as the biggest iPad Pro update ever. Unfortunately, it appears the MacBook production has been delayed at the point where the components are mounted on circuit boards. Meanwhile, the iPad production has hit delays as a result of shortages of displays and display components.

    As a result, Apple is pushing back some of the component orders from the first half of the year to the second half. If the report is true, we may see both devices previewed at WWDC in June, but not released until sometime between August and October.

    The news is even worse for the industry as a whole, given Apple’s legendary supply chain efficiency. If Apple is experiencing significant delays, smaller companies, and ones without as efficient a supply chain, will likely be impacted far worse.

  • Qualcomm Struggles to Meet Android Demand Amid Semiconductor Shortage

    Qualcomm Struggles to Meet Android Demand Amid Semiconductor Shortage

    Qualcomm is the latest to be impacted by the global semiconductor shortage, as the company struggles to meet Android chip demand.

    Android devices run on Arm-based chips, much like Apple’s iPhone and iPad. Qualcomm is one of the leading manufactures of Arm-based chips, with their Snapdragon line widely used across the Android ecosystem.

    The semiconductor shortage has already began impacting various industries, with companies as large as GM being forced to halt production as a result. Now the shortage appears to be impacting Qualcomm as well, according to AppleInsider.

    Another factor impacting demand is Huawei being crippled by sanctions and bans, opening the door for other Android manufacturers to fill the void. Whereas Huawei designed its own chips, like Apple and Samsung, most other Android manufacturers rely on a third-party, such as Qualcomm.

    It remains to be seen when the shortage will let up, but it has become a top priority for the current administration.