$1,000 iPhone Subsidies Fade on Freight Costs, 'Chipset Famine'

Global smartphone shipments dropped 6% in Q3 as vendors struggled to meet demand amid a “chipset famine,” Canalys reported Friday. The smartphone industry is straining to maximize device production, while chipmakers bump prices to “disincentivize over-ordering," in an attempt to close the gap between demand and supply, said analyst Ben Stanton, saying shortages won’t ease until “well into 2022.” High global freight costs hiked device pricing at retail, Stanton said. Verizon dropped its $1,000 iPhone offer Thursday, scaling it back to a maximum $500 off, and AT&T’s website Friday showed the $1,000 deal expiring Oct. 14. New Street Research's Jonathan Chaplin wrote that the end of the $1,000 offers put the brakes on a “wireless industry selloff” around subsidies offered with the iPhone 13 launch. The moves may improve T-Mobile’s ability to take share in Q4, said the analyst: The carrier was offering up to $1,000 “on us” Friday via 30 monthly bill credits for customers choosing the Magenta Max plan and trading in an eligible device.