Parts shortage eats into smartphone sales for Q3

Premium phones enjoyed increased sales compared to the last quarter. Samsung emerged as the top seller with a market share of 20.2 percent.

Moneycontrol News

November 24, 2021 / 13:46 IST

Samsung emerged at the top for Q3 2021

The global component shortage has resulted in lower smartphone sales in the third quarter of 2021, compared to the same period last year. The COVID-induced supply snag has hit manufacturers hard with smaller stocks, leaving them unable to keep up with the consumer demand.

Also Read: Smartphone shipments in India drop 5 percent YoY; Xiaomi retains lead

According to a research conducted by Gartner, sales dipped 6.8 percent compared to last quarter and delays in the supply chain has hurt production worldwide. Gartner says that production of entry-level and budget smartphones was more affected, compared to premium phones. The main culprits are components such as radio frequency and power management circuits.

Gartner says global #smartphone sales declined 6.8% in third quarter of 2021 due to supply constraints and component shortages. Read more here. https://t.co/12dOASLTQN #IT pic.twitter.com/hjis1y3P5C

— Gartner (@Gartner_inc) November 23, 2021

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show