Apple warns of iPad and Mac supply issues in second half of 2021

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in General Discussion
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Wednesday that iPad and Mac products could be affected by supply issues in the second half of 2021.

Credit: Apple
Credit: Apple


During the Apple Q2 2021 earnings call on Wednesday, Cook said he would not provide product-level details about the Mac or iPad lineups, but said supply shortages and constraints would likely affect both later in 2021.

"We expect to be supply-gated, not demand-gated," Cook said, after stating that the supply chain problems primarily affect Apple's tablet and Mac segments.

That comment came in response to a question about the ongoing chip shortages affecting the global electronics industry. An analyst asked Cook about when constraints affecting Apple may ease. The Apple chief executive said it was hard to give a "good answer."

"Most of the issue is legacy nodes, not just in our industry but other industries as well. In order to answer that question accurately, we would need to know the true demand from each player and how that changes over the next few months, so it's difficult to give a good answer," Cook said.

"We have a good handle on our demand, but what everybody else is doing, I don't know. We will do our best, that's what I can tell you," he added

Earlier in the earnings call, Apple CFO Luca Maestri said that the Cupertino tech giant was already seeing an impact from the shortages. Maestri also said the supply constraints would be one reason why Apple expects greater seasonal revenue declines heading into the June quarter.

Apple recently launched a new 24-inch iMac and iPad Pro models equipped with the company's M1 chip. The new Macs and tablets are slated to become available for preorder on Friday, April 30.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,118member
    This statement somewhat baffles me. It implies the iPads aren't already under wholesale supply constraints.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 3
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    Well, so much for waiting for Pre-Christmas discounts. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 3
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Reuters has an interesting analysis of the situation:

    Analysis: Why Apple has chips for iPhones while Ford got caught short

    "some of the problems at Ford [which developed a "just in time delivery model"] and other automakers are the result of their own decisions. Many cut orders a year ago when the pandemic hit, and then were caught short when auto demand rebounded much more quickly and strongly than anticipated.

    Apple, which is famous for its supply chain management and has more buying power than any other company, has avoided problems so far in meeting surging demand in part by burning through supply buffers, Chief Executive Tim Cook told investors on a conference call Wednesday.

    Apple expects the problems to mostly affect iPads and Macs - two product lines that have sold well as work-from-home tools during the pandemic but whose sales are a fraction of Apple's cash cow, the iPhone.

    Mobile phone processors are not suffering the same kind of manufacturing capacity shortage as auto chips because they are made with more advanced production technology that chipmakers have spent heavily on in recent years.

    Mobile phones do, however, require some older-technology chips in addition to their advanced processors."






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