GMMK PRO Possible QMK Compatibility Impacts from Global Chip Shortage (Updated 8/21)

Several months ago we announced that there was the possibility we would have to switch our ARM microcontroller to a new chip. This was primarily due to the fact that the ST32 microcontrollers in our boards are very difficult to source at scale right now given the current state of the supply chain (I’m sure you’ve read a lot about the global chip shortages already). In the event we had to switch over the chip, this would have potentially resulted in a temporary loss of compatibility with QMK/VIA until we were able to complete the firmware development.

Fortunately, we have thus far been able to source enough ST32 chips to continue production with them for the foreseeable future. This has also fortunately given us plenty of time to finalize development of QMK/VIA compatibility for the new chip in the event we have to switch over sometime next year, so there should not be any loss of compatibility on production units.

So in summary, we no longer expect any outages of QMK/VIA compatibility in new boards.

You may have read there is currently an ongoing global shortage of semiconductor microchips. This is affecting supply chains across a huge range of industries, from automotive to computer manufacturing. As a result, the ARM microcontrollers we use to power the GMMK PRO firmware are in extremely short supply.

While we have been able to source enough of the MCUs to produce GMMK PROs so far, there have been repeated delays and difficulties getting a hold of enough to meet the level of production demand. Fortunately, our engineers have identified a more widely available chipset that can be used as a replacement.

We have enough of the current MCU to support production through Q3 (July) 2021. If we cannot source enough of the current MCUs, we plan to switch to the new chip from Q3 onward.

This new chipset does not support QMK compatibility by default. Our team is actively working on developing this functionality, but this process will take some time. At this point it is unclear if we will have QMK support ready by the time keyboards are being produced with the new chip.

This means there may be a period of time when new GMMK PRO boards do not have QMK support out of the box. To be clear, we 100% intend to make this functionality work, but for some users it may need to be added via a software/firmware update at a future date.

Unfortunately, we cannot give any exact dates due to the fluid nature of the situation. We will continue to update our social media channels and our blog to keep you informed.

Note: To clarify, this compatibility would only possibly affect boards produced in Q3 onwards. This would not affect existing boards in customers hands or those already in production.

There is also a chance that we’re able to get a hold of enough of the original MCUs that this won’t be an issue. At this point we’re planning for every precaution.

When a new reservation is placed, customers will be given a prompt to indicate if their unit may possibly be affected by this change. If you didn’t get a prompt, then your board will not be affected.

The global chip shortage is being fueled by many factors coming to a head, causing supply crunches across industries ranging from cars to planes to home appliances to computers (and of course, keyboards).

Like so many issues these days, COVID19 is at the heart of the problem. Throughout the pandemic, many consumer products which use these chips have seen unprecedented levels of demand. And as global economies recover, this demand is continuing to surge.

And because over the years many chip manufacturers have opted to invest into expanding production into newer, more expensive technologies, rather than the mass-market chips which are in highest demand right now, they haven’t been able to keep up.

Making matters worse, fires at chip factories, trade disputes, COVID shutdowns, labor strikes, and more have confounded the problem. It has been a perfect storm that has ripple effects throughout the entire world’s supply chain.

Unfortunately, since it takes a lot of time and money to expand production at these high-tech production facilities, it's not something that can be solved overnight. At this point there is a lot of uncertainty how long it will last.

Lucky for us, Glorious is still a relatively small company, so we’re able to adapt on the fly to these rapidly changing conditions.

For more information, check out this article on the subject from Nasdaq.