Production for the much rumoured Samsung Galaxy S21 FE – which is believed to be a more affordable alternative to the flagship Galaxy S21 series – is said to have been halted. The phone was allegedly planned for an August debut, though it appears the shortage of parts is putting this plan on hold.

This bit of news came from ETNews. Citing a source familiar with the matter, there is supposedly a shortage of semiconductors for the Galaxy S21 FE. This is likely caused by the global chip shortage, but Samsung is also said to be allocating these chips for its range of foldable phones instead.

That being said, renowned leaker Ice Universe added that battery supply issues could have contributed to the production halt of the Galaxy S21 FE instead of chip shortage. “It’s not that the battery is in short supply, it’s that the parts required by FE’s new technology are not up to standard,” Ice Universe added.

Nonetheless, the bottom line is production for the Galaxy S21 FE has been halted. It remains to be seen if production will resume in the future, given that this is the first time Samsung has had to put on hold the release of a phone due to parts shortage – even if this is not officially confirmed.

As for Samsung’s plans moving forward, the South Korean company is said to be launching as many as two foldable smartphones sometime in August 2021. Unfortunately, there’s supposedly no plans for a new Note-branded device this year.