Apple says iPhone, Mac, iPad and Apple Watch supply constrained
Apple is seeing supply constraints across its product lineup, a potential indicator of high demand for new iPhone 12 models and other devices.
Credit: Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsider
During the company's earnings call on Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that supply of the new iPhone models, as well as certain Apple Watch, Mac and iPad devices, are currently constrained.
Although the Apple chief executive didn't elaborate on the cause of the holdup, it could be a mix of higher-than-anticipated demand and lingering supply chain issues from the coronavirus.
On Thursday, Apple reported an all-new record high for the Mac segment, largely driven by continued remote work and education tailwinds during the global health crisis. Although the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro launched too late in the year to be included in the September quarter results, delivery dates for the released models started slipping within hours of availability.
"Not a surprise at front end of the ramp, and how long we'll be constrained it's hard to predict. We haven't taken orders yet for iPhone 12 Mini or Pro Max, so those are coming and we shall see," Cook said.
Apple launched new Mac and iPad models throughout the year, and the iPhone supply chain is working on both the released iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models and the unreleased iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Across the board, Cook said the company is working to mitigate the problems. That will likely become increasingly important as the company approaches the busy holiday shopping season.
"A fair number of areas of focus right now, and we're working really, really hard to remedy those as quickly as we can. But at this point, I can't estimate when we'll be out of that," Cook said.
Earlier in October, a supply chain report suggested that Apple supplier Foxconn was hiring factory workers "in droves" in anticipation of iPhone 12 demand.
Credit: Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsider
During the company's earnings call on Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that supply of the new iPhone models, as well as certain Apple Watch, Mac and iPad devices, are currently constrained.
Although the Apple chief executive didn't elaborate on the cause of the holdup, it could be a mix of higher-than-anticipated demand and lingering supply chain issues from the coronavirus.
On Thursday, Apple reported an all-new record high for the Mac segment, largely driven by continued remote work and education tailwinds during the global health crisis. Although the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro launched too late in the year to be included in the September quarter results, delivery dates for the released models started slipping within hours of availability.
"Not a surprise at front end of the ramp, and how long we'll be constrained it's hard to predict. We haven't taken orders yet for iPhone 12 Mini or Pro Max, so those are coming and we shall see," Cook said.
Apple launched new Mac and iPad models throughout the year, and the iPhone supply chain is working on both the released iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models and the unreleased iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Across the board, Cook said the company is working to mitigate the problems. That will likely become increasingly important as the company approaches the busy holiday shopping season.
"A fair number of areas of focus right now, and we're working really, really hard to remedy those as quickly as we can. But at this point, I can't estimate when we'll be out of that," Cook said.
Earlier in October, a supply chain report suggested that Apple supplier Foxconn was hiring factory workers "in droves" in anticipation of iPhone 12 demand.
Comments
One weird sign: Go to the top 27" (8 core) and Apple says 3-4 weeks. Change RAM (because you aren't cheap
Change the GPU on the other hand. 1-2 weeks! The 5500XT seems to be the bottleneck on that model.
And more interestingly, this guy
Well, I'm still running on a 2009 iMac 27" i7 and I still think it looks better than most (if not all) PC's available. I think the design doesn't at all feel dated... it's elegant and timeless. Yes, gone are the fun days of brightly colored plastic - but those systems were meant to be attention grabbers.
As far as people still buying these systems even though Apple is about to renew them (in a big way)... most don't know or even care about that stuff. They just know they need a computer now.
I'm not superstitious, but I wonder if Apple will skip #13. They might jump to 15 because to put their iPhone number in sync with next year's A15 chip. A second benefit of skipping #14 is that the digit 4 is very unlucky in most of the Orient. Yes, Apple did sell the iPhone 4, but I doubt that they had a big market in China in those days anyway.
The number 4 is so hated in the Orient, that even in Australia (and other countries) some new buildings skip from floor 3 to floor 5 because they don't want to lose customers from China. They also skip 14, 24, 34, 40, 41, 42... and 49.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraphobia <--
Has anyone noticed that China's OnePhone phones jumped from version 3 to 5? Has anyone noticed that China bid on the 2000 and 2008 Olympics but not 2004?
Although that meme is dying more and more every year.
So true. The vast majority of people do not know or care about Apple's release cycles. They go to the store when they need new phone or a fiend shows them the newest thing they bought.