DigiTimes: Shortage of low-end Intel CPUs to get worse in Q2 2019

DigiTimes Research predicts the shortage of Intel's 14nm processors will get worse next quarter. The analyst outfit says that demand for Chromebooks is entering the high period, and those systems are mostly equipped with entry-level Intel CPUs. Overall shipments of Intel CPUs are expected to see little growth, causing the supply gap to grow 1 to 2 percent sequentially in Q2 2019.

In the short-term, this is seen as a positive for AMD's marketshare as more Chromebooks and entry-level laptops with AMD chips are hitting the market:

With demand for Chromebooks to pick up and brand vendors to begin mass shipping their new models all using processors that are in tight supply, Intel CPUs' supply gap is expected to grow 1-2pp sequentially in the second quarter of 2019, with the overall shipments unlikely to see much growth.

AMD's share in worldwide notebook shipments have also been picking up gradually from only 9.8% in the first quarter of 2018 to 15.8% in the first quarter of 2019. As more Chromebooks are expected to come with AMD processors in the second quarter and many vendors will begin mass shipping AMD-based entry-level notebooks, AMD's share is expected to rise to 18% in the second quarter of 2018.

However, with Intel's newly established 14nm capacity to begin contributing shipments, the second quarter is expected to be the peak for AMD's share in worldwide notebook shipments in 2019.