Persistent semiconductor shortages will induce half the world’s top 10 automotive OEMs to design their own chips for vehicle electrification and autonomy by 2025, giving them better control over their product road maps and supply chains, reported Gartner Tuesday. Ford foreshadowed the trend last month when it struck a nonbinding agreement with GlobalFoundries to collaborate on R&D for future “feature-rich” chips (see 2111180016). Automotive semiconductor supply chains “are complex,” said Gartner Vice President-Research Gaurav Gupta. “In most cases, chip makers are traditionally Tier 3 or Tier 4 suppliers to automakers, which means it usually takes a while until they adapt to the changes affecting automotive market demand. This lack of visibility in the supply chain has increased automotive OEMs' desire to have greater control over their semiconductor supply.” The chip crunch is especially acute among mature semiconductor technology nodes where capacity expansion is difficult, said Gupta. “That the automotive industry has been conservative in qualifying older devices on larger wafer sizes has also hurt them and will likely motivate them to take chip design in-house.” NXP Semiconductors CEO Kurt Sievers described the “enormous depth and complexity” of the automotive supply chain when he told analysts on a quarterly call last month that it takes coordinated timing and delivery “of up to 30,000 parts and up to 1,500 different semiconductors from hundreds of suppliers to build just one single car” (see 2111020032).

If the FTC concludes in an administrative law trial that Nvidia’s proposed $40 billion Arm buy violates the FTC Act or the Sherman Act, the commission may order the companies to give “prior notice” of any “combinations of their businesses with any other company,” said a redacted public version Monday of the complaint the agency filed last week to block the transaction (see 2112030002). Other “contemplated” sanctions include a requirement to file “periodic compliance reports” with the commission. An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 9. The proposed transaction “would allow the combined firm to use its control of Arm to harm Nvidia’s rivals in ways that substantially lessen competition -- including innovation, price, and feature competition -- in multiple markets,” it said. Nvidia has defended the transaction as one that would benefit the industry and promote competition.

IDC projects 5.3% unit growth in smartphone sales this year to 1.35 billion handsets globally, reported the research company Thursday. Lower than expected Q3 shipments, plus the continued component shortages and logistical challenges, caused IDC to downgrade its 2021 growth forecast from 7.4% in the previous guidance. "Although we expected a slowdown in the third quarter, the market declined by almost twice the projected rate as the supply chain and logistical challenges hit every major player in the market,” said IDC analyst Nabila Popal. “The shortage is more heavily concentrated on 4G components than 5G, which will impact vendors with a higher portfolio mix of 4G devices than vendors with a higher proportion of 5G models,” she said. "On the positive side, this is expected to accelerate the jump to 5G, which is now forecast to be almost 60% of worldwide shipments by this time next year.” 5G devices are expected to have 117% year-over-year sales growth in 2021 "driven by a supply-side push from both vendors and channels," said IDC. It pegs the average selling price of 5G smartphones at $643 in 2021. That's 1.7% higher than in 2020, "thanks to the massive success of iPhone 12 and 13 devices that are all 5G," it said.

The safety of CES 2020 “participants and partners” is a “top priority,” emailed an association spokesperson Thursday, responding to our queries about the possible impact of COVID-19's new omicron variant on the Jan. 5-8 event planned for the Las Vegas Convention Center. “We are actively tracking the emerging news and science,” she said. CTA continues to “follow guidance” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, “as well as relevant federal, state, and local government requirements,” she said. "While it is too early to determine the impact of this latest variant, we will continue to monitor and adjust our plans and health protocols as necessary."

CTA has no “new information at this time” about FCC and FTC participation at CES 2022 “but will follow up as participation is confirmed,” emailed a spokesperson Monday. CES 2020 drew a large contingent of FCC and FTC members, including the chairs of both agencies (see 2001070054). No FCC or FTC people were among the show’s list of featured speakers as of Monday. CES 2022 opens Jan. 5 for a four-day run at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and will be “a little bit smaller” in attendee and exhibitor participation than before the COVID-19 pandemic, CTA President Gary Shapiro told a Nov. 18 media briefing (see 2111180040).

Global smartphone sales to end users declined 6.8% year over year in Q3 to 342.3 million handsets, reported Gartner Tuesday. “Component shortages disrupted production schedules, leading to lower inventory and delayed product availability, which eventually impacted sales to end-users,” said Gartner. Samsung maintained top global share at 20.2%, but Apple stormed into second place past Xiaomi via its nearly 20% increase in units to 48.46 million iPhones.

Registration opens Dec. 9 for the digital component of CES 2022, Jean Foster, CTA senior vice president-marketing and communications, told a virtual media briefing Thursday. All of the media day news conferences will be livestreamed on the digital platform, and available for on-demand playback through the end of January, she said. “A lot” of the CES 2022 conferences, though not all, will also be livestreamed, and those that aren't will be recorded onsite, available for playback for nearly a month after the event, said Foster. “The goal is to bring as much of this to you as possible.”

CTA “welcomes manufacturer efforts” to promote self-service repair of “complex, highly integrated, and world-changing consumer technology products,” emailed Walter Alcorn, vice president-energy and sustainability policy, of Apple’s decision to make its parts, tools and manuals available for consumers who are comfortable servicing their own devices (see 2111170034). “As manufacturers assume more responsibility for product safety and security long after their devices are sold to consumers, it’s important to find the balance between safety and empowering consumers to repair their devices," said Alcorn Wednesday.

Qorvo sees the industry "working through” chip shortages, even if the crunch forces 5G smartphone OEMs to leave some business on the table for calendar 2021, said CEO Bob Bruggeworth on a call Wednesday for fiscal Q2 ended Oct. 2. Chip shortages for tech devices are most acute in SoCs for MacBooks, not “RF front-ends” for 5G smartphones, “at least not from us,” said Bruggeworth, who chairs the Semiconductor Industry Association board. Chief Financial Officer Mark Murphy said the outlook for fiscal Q3 ending early January is for an 11% revenue decline sequentially even at the high end of guidance, reflecting “broad-based challenges in supply,” he said. “Our external supply chain is still recovering from disruptions in September, including shutdowns in Southeast Asia. Beyond that, select materials, products and production capacity remain tight.” In smartphones, “even where channel inventory for certain parts is healthy, customers lack silicon chips” to produce finished handsets, he said. “Given the supply and demand effects, we now see 5G smartphone volumes coming in below” the previously targeted 550 million handset shipments globally in calendar 2021, he said.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon had a relatively positive take on the semiconductor industry’s demand-supply imbalance when he said on a call Wednesday for fiscal Q4 ended Sept. 26 that the company expects “material improvements” to its supply by Dec. 31. He credited increases in capacity at Qualcomm’s suppliers, plus the company’s successful execution of its “second-sourcing initiatives.” Assurances of better supply are reflected in Qualcomm’s guidance for fiscal Q1 ending late December, he said. The company expects 16% sequential revenue growth at the high end of its guidance, plus 32% year-over-year revenue growth in its handset business. Android at the premium tier “is the primary growth driver in our handset business right now,” said the CEO. Like virtually all in the tech industry, Qualcomm in its September quarter endured supply constraints “really across the board,” said Chief Financial Officer Akash Palkhiwala. It’s conjecture “how the demand would have played out if there was supply across the industry, but we feel pretty comfortable that the overall supply picture is playing out exactly as we had planned,” he said. Qualcomm now has three parts that are “dual-sourced, that are available,” he said. There also are “capacity expansions with our suppliers that were previously being planned,” he said. The company continues to have “pockets” of the business in which “we would ship more, if we had more, but we see a lot of improvements,” said Amon. The industry will still face “some shortage” in calendar 2022's first half, “but as we get to the second part the year, in general, supply and demand are going to be aligned,” he said. The stock closed 12.7% higher Thursday at $156.11 after Qualcomm reported 56% year-on-year revenue growth in its handset business.