Apple Product Delays

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
After 10-plus years of Windows, I ordered my first Mac (1.8 dual G5) last week. It was originally scheduled to ship yesterday; however, when I checked my order status this morning, it's been pushed back to 'On or Before 7/22'. Does this sort of stuff happen frequently? I read here and there that Apple sometimes has problems keeping things in stock, or manufacturing enough parts to meet demand.



Also, what do you guys think of Apple's policy of announcing products a month or so before they ship? I was in the Apple store a couple days ago, and several people asked about Airport Extreme, and were told it won't be in stock for awhile. But you can see the ads in Time, Newsweek, online, etc. Same thing with the Aluminum screens: the 20" I purchased won't be ready until August, they tell me. At first I was peeved about having a beautiful computer and no monitor, but that was before my system got delayed.



For a company that prides itself on its secrecy, wouldn't they be wise to announce the products a little closer to when they'll be available?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    ipodandimacipodandimac Posts: 3,273member
    1. if you order a 20 incher yesterday, then an august ship date is reasonable. i ordered right after the keynote and mine is 7/26.



    2. this tends to happen a lot, but IMO its good that Apple HAS such a great demand--they'll catch up eventually.



    3. apple releases things based on the amount of press theyre going to get. thats why a WWDC keynote will have announcements that are 1 month+ away from ship date.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    telomartelomar Posts: 1,804member
    Well a lot of companies don't have new products out the door immediately. Unlike Dell et al who can rely on Intel and others to hype components Apple actually needs to do that themselves, which is best done around tradeshows.



    That said I think Apple manages supply particularly badly. I'm certain it's because their contracts are more aimed at constant shipments over the life of the product but having months of no product is poor management.
  • Reply 3 of 7
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Telomar

    That said I think Apple manages supply particularly badly. I'm certain it's because their contracts are more aimed at constant shipments over the life of the product but having months of no product is poor management.



    It seems like Apple does several things badly. Don't get me wrong: as a recent Switcher, I love their design aesthetic, and the way their OS runs so well on the hardware, and their innovation. I'm enthralled with the company and can't wait to get my machine.



    HOWEVER, I read a lot of Mac and computer sites in general, and I hear about: manufacturing delays, broken pixels on the Cinema screens (this really scares me, as does the "must be x broken per sq. inch" return policy), computers not working right out of the box, etc. Coupled with dealing with a few Customer Service reps that were curt-bordering-on-rude, it makes me wonder.



    From the experience of people on here, does Apple have a quality control problem? Or when I see gripes, am I reading select posts of severely-pissed off people, deviations from the Apple mean? What are some of your experiencs? I'm excited, but wary all the same.



    -Hal
  • Reply 4 of 7
    telomartelomar Posts: 1,804member
    There's no question Apple has its problems but they tend to be better than most large PC manufacturers when it comes to quality control I find.



    As mentioned elsewhere Dell laptops in particular are very poorly made.



    My experiences with Apple have always been positive. That said I know in one instance they installed incorrect RAM in somebody's computer and actually broke it in the process. Fixing that should have been immediate but instead they wasted a month and a half arguing when it was very obvious they were in the wrong.



    Most of their policies are pretty much the norm just people here and on other mac BB harp on about it.
  • Reply 5 of 7
    auroraaurora Posts: 1,142member
    Apple has big problems in the hardware dept, and if you look at the numbers its not demand, they are loosing more market every qtr. Its a supply issue and announcing things when not ready and then poor planning. Xserve,ipod mini,airport express, now iMac. the Hardware guys get failing marks for not delivering on time all the time. its become the standard operating procedure for Apple's Hardware division. not a way to run a company if you piss off your customers everytime they order something.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    telomartelomar Posts: 1,804member
    Well it's actually more than that. In consumer electronics the vast majority of purchases aren't done off orders. Consumers walk into a store, look at what's available then walk out. If you say, "Let me take your details and we'll tell you when it arrives" more often than not you'll wind up without a sale. If you want to sell a product it needs to be available.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    a_greera_greer Posts: 4,594member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Telomar

    Well a lot of companies don't have new products out the door immediately. Unlike Dell et al who can rely on Intel and others to hype components Apple actually needs to do that themselves, which is best done around tradeshows.



    That said I think Apple manages supply particularly badly. I'm certain it's because their contracts are more aimed at constant shipments over the life of the product but having months of no product is poor management.




    absolutely, inventory is a huge issue, like them or not (no one really does), if you compare dell to apple in turn arround, it seems that something is wrong inside apple.



    why can a 2 month old stock dell ship in 1-2 days yet after a product has been on apple . com for 2 months, it just starts shipping with another month of backorders to fill?
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