Component shortages continue to hamper the smartphone market, as global phone shipments drop by 6 per cent in the September quarter, according to market researcher Canalys.

Samsung remains the leading vendor, with an impressive 23 per cent of the market, buoyed by its recent roll out of the new Galaxy range.

Apple regains second place with 15 per cent, due to early demand for the iPhone 13.

Xiaomi took third place with 14 per cent, while Vivo and OPPO claimed 10 per cent share each.

“The chipset famine has truly arrived,” said Canalys Principal Analyst, Ben Stanton. “The smartphone industry is striving to maximise production of devices as best it can.

“On the supply side, chipset manufacturers are increasing prices to disincentivise over-ordering, in an attempt to close the gap between demand and supply.

“But despite this, shortages will not ease until well into 2022. As a result of this, as well as high costs of global freight, smartphone brands have reluctantly pushed up device retail pricing.”