14 DAY TRIAL // After two years of massive growth, sales of smartphones and PCs are finally slowing down, with some of the biggest companies in the industry confirming this new trend.
TSMC, mostly known as the supplier of chips for Apple devices, is one of them, with the company explaining recently at the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association that the current geopolitical tensions and the latest wave of lockdowns and restrictions are all impacting the sales.
Chairman Mark Liu also emphasizes that the costs of components and materials are continuously rising, and in the end, this new trend could lead to a substantial price increase that could be passed on to customers themselves.
In other words, we may eventually have to cover all these growing costs, and obviously, TSMC believes the demand will be even further affected because of the higher prices.
As per Nikkei, Liu emphasized China is particularly impacting by the declining demand for smartphones, but the same trends could eventually be recorded in other global markets as well.
Massive PC growth in 2021
Data shared by IDC revealed that in 2021, the PC market recorded a growth of no less than 14.8 percent from the previous year, and this represents the biggest number since 2012.
Total PC shipments got close to 349 million units.
“2021 has truly been a return to form for the PC,” said Jitesh Ubrani, research manager for IDC's Mobile and Consumer Device Trackers.
“Consumer need for PCs in emerging markets and global commercial demand remained strong during the quarter with supply being a gating factor. While consumer and educational demand has tapered in some developed markets, we continue to believe the overall PC market has reset at a much higher level than before the pandemic.”
The chip shortage is also affecting the global inventory, with industry analysts expecting the crisis to ease off in the second half of the year.