Many people have started their holiday shopping early, especially those seeking to upgrade their technology toys. The reason for this is due to the fact that there is a semiconductor shortage. If you don’t know what semiconductors are, they’re the chips that run things from your tablets to phones, to cars, and so on. There are many reasons why there is a semiconductor shortage. Some reasons are due to the manufacturers having to close down factories to factories focusing on a specific type of electronics, leading to the current shortage. With that being said, here are a few things that are highly sought after.

Consoles

Consoles have been in high demand since the Atari 2600 was released in 1977. Before the pandemic, manufacturers have been able to meet these demands. Ever since the pandemic, however, manufacturers haven’t been able to meet these demands. A good example of that is the PS5 and the Xbox series X and S consoles. Part of the reason too that these are hard to find is due to scalpers, who buy a bunch of these consoles and sell them at a ridiculous price. It was a perfect storm that led to consoles being extremely hard to find.

Computer Parts

Computer parts such as Graphics Processing Units have always been in high demand. However, due to the semiconductor shortage, companies such as AMD and Nvidia haven’t been able to manufacture enough graphics cards to be able to keep up with demand. It was only in May 2021 that Nvidia and AMD were able to get production back to pre-pandemic levels. However, the shortage is likely to continue till 2022 or 2023 at least. However, companies such as Intel have announced making new GPUs to help with the GPU shortage. Nvidia also announced an updated version of the RTX 2060, with upgraded video memory. Originally, this card was a lower-tier card but now, it is more of a professional graphics card.

Phones, Tablets, and Computers

The latest flagship phones such as the Google Pixel 6 and iPhone 13 were released this fall. Even Apple and Google, two of the biggest manufacturers of phones and tablets are affected by the shortages. Although Apple seems to be more resilient, they still have delays in shipping. Samsung, which makes its own smartphones and chips, had to delay the release of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE because of the chip shortage. Tablets on the other hand haven’t had many issues with supply but, if you want one, you should start shopping for this item now.

TVs

The chip shortage has affected everything, we’ve seen evidence of that. Now, the chip shortage is starting to affect TVs. According to a report from Wired magazine, larger TV models are 30% more expensive than last year. While experts are estimating that there will be enough stock for this holiday season, you should still be shopping now for TVs if you want one. Lower-end TVs are the ones that are most likely to be left over after Black Friday is over. So, if you want a 4k smart TV start searching now.

There are still many other products that are in high demand. Companies such as Best Buy, Target, and Amazon are having early Black Friday deals. So, don’t wait till the last minute to start searching for these items because you won’t be able to find them.