According to a report by SemiAccurate, production of Qualcomm’s new S4 chip has come to a halt. Qualcomm’s SoC manufacturer, TSMC, halted 100 percent of it 28nm chip production three weeks ago (before the HTC One was unveiled) to make changes to the production process. No details are currently available as to when production of all 28nm chips will resume, but volumes are expected to be back to normal levels (if not higher) by the end of March.
So what does this mean for Android OEMs? At the point, the full impact of TSMC’s shutdown is unclear, but it could translate into a few phone delays for OEMs with phones running on Qualcomm S4 chips. The most notable of these devices are the HTC One S and the HTC One X(L) which are currently expected to launch in Europe the first week in April and will also be launching in the U.S. this spring on AT&T and T-Mobile.
The Qualcomm S4 chip has been in production since the early 2012, but we have no indication as to Qualcomm’s current chip supply levels or how many chips have already been shipped to HTC for the production of the HTC One. A delayed launch of the HTC One X(L) and HTC One S could certainly be an inconvenience for AT&T, T-Mobile and the dozens of European service providers which have signed on to sell HTC’s new flagship phones, but most consumers will not notice the delay since no official launch dates have been announced by carriers.
We’re hoping TSMC gets the production line started up again soon. If delays continue, HTC may have a hard time getting the company back on track for the second quarter of this year.
Source: SemiAccurate via TmoNews
