Gartner: Supply Shortages Will Reduce Smartphone Sales In 2017

According to the latest research from Gartner, supply shortages of critical hardware will likely bring down sales of premium smartphones, during the second half of 2017.

Thus far, sales of all smartphone categories have been higher this year, compared to last.

Smartphone sales globally rose above 366 million units during the first quarter of 2017, a 6.7% lift compared to the same time last year.

Of special note is Samsung, whose sales jumped 7.5% year-on-year, selling 82.5 million smartphones after three consecutive quarterly declines following its Galaxy Note 7 debacle.

In light of strong growth across the board, concerns have also grown about the increasing price of key components and supply shortages of essential hardware.

Research Director at Gartner, Anshul Gupta, states:

“We expect a shortage of flash memory and OLED displays will affect premium smartphone supply in the second half of 2017”.

Mr Gupta mentioned Huawei, who have already suffered from a supply shortage in flash memory used within their mobile devices, whilst also naming HTC, Sony and LG as “stuck between aggressive Chinese brands and the dominating market shares of Samsung and Apple”.

Apple, too, is not resistant to supply shortages, notably when acquiring OLED screens for its forthcoming iPhone 8.

Thus far, Apple have been relying on Samsung for its high-end display technology, yet various sources state Samsung does not have sufficient supply for both brands.