Qualcomm has announced that it underestimated the demand for its new S4 processor for use in mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. Apparently, the increase in adoption of mobile devices to Qualcomm’s S4 Snapdragon chipset line is creating shortages that the company might not have the capacity to handle until the end of the year. The chipset can be found on devices like the HTC One X.
Reports have stated that the shortage will most likely affect Android smartphones, Windows Phone and Windows 8 ARM systems that rely on ARM architecture. Due to the unexpected nature of the problem, Qualcomm might consider limiting its S4 chips to high-end handsets for the time being and this might lead to a void for mid-range smartphones which could in turn, lead to either Qualcomm offering up the services of its Fusion 2 chipset or suggest chipsets by competitors.
To try and curb the problem, reports suggest that Qualcomm has approached a company called Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a firm which is rumored to have manufactured Apple’s ARM-based CPU designs to outsource some of its Snapdragon S4 production to them. The market that seems to enjoy Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipset and will probably miss it significantly would be the wireless carriers in the US because of how well the chipset has performed on HSPA+ and LTE networks.
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