Intel Doesn't Believe in Electronics Prices Dropping Before 2023
Intel's CEO believes that component shortages (and thus high electronics prices) will be with us until at least 2023.
- Pat Gelsinger, Intel's CEO, believes that the electronics supply problems will last until at least 2023;
- Chip shortages have affected even Apple, at least judging by the deals on its official store.
For years now, gamers (and non-gamers) have been 'enjoying' new reports about chip supply problems and how long we'll have to reckon with shortages and high electronics prices. If by some miracle you managed to forget about it - you're 'lucky', because Intel's financial report for the past fiscal quarter has just appeared. On this occasion, company's CEO Pat Gelsinger announced that the troubles on the market are now worse than ever, and reiterated that the situation will not improve at least until 2023.
This isn't the first time Intel's CEO has let us know the plight of electronics manufacturers. Back in June, Gelsinger dispelled doubts about the possibility of quickly dealing with the crisis, and recently we learned about a possible delay in the release of Intel's GPUs. The company has taken steps to remedy the situation, which, as we read, are expected to translate into its financial results in the coming months. For now, Intel's forecasts initially translated into a drop of about 10% in its stock value, despite the fact that the company did better in the past quarter than in a similar period a year ago.
Of course, one could wave off the forecasts of a single company - even one as huge as Intel - and delude oneself that it is not true for one reason or another. Fact is, you can find bigger optimists than Gelsinger. During the Code 2021 conference in September, AMD CEO Lisa Su reiterated that the electronics market will improve in 2022. The problem is that the 'pessimists; are more numerous, and recent reports make you doubt the faith of the latter.
We've been hearing about the continuing difficulties with GPU and console (mainly PlayStation 5) supply, but it's not just these that are causing problems for buyers. Apparently, Apple customers also have problems, because practically all new products of the company have very long delivery times. Those willing to buy an iPhone 13 Pro must reckon with the fact that the device will be ready for shipment only in 4-5 weeks. Equally long waiting times are given for the new high-performance MacBook Pro. So far, Apple seemed immune to the effects of the crisis, but that immunity has apparently come to an end.
The market situation is summed up rather amusingly by an unusual gesture by Intel. Although the new processors with Alder Lake chips have not yet officially debuted, some people have already managed to stock up on their own copies of the Core i9-12900K. That includes Reddit user Seby9123, who hasn't had a chance to test the CPU's performance yet, but has reported an interesting addition. This is because the package included... a plastic imitation of a golden silicon wafer. It acts as a protection for the processor. Is this Intel's way of suggesting that every product the company ships to stores is worth its weight in gold?
Source: seby9123 via Reddit.
As a reminder, problems with supply concern not only semiconductors. Recent months have brought with them information about shortages of workers, electricity, and more. Whether this is the only reason for the crisis and whether it worries manufacturers remains a separate question. Anyway, better don't expect cheaper components for computers, laptops, smartphones etc. in the coming months.
