The global shortage of chips has finally affected Apple’s MacBook and iPad production

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The electronics manufacturing industry is in a bit of a bind, with chip shortages across the board. From expensive GPU and CPU cores to $1 components needed in anything with a screen, the industry is playing catch up. Until now, Apple has been spared the worst of this, partly due to their insistence on multiple supply chains, but a new report in Nikkei says that even Apple is now feeling the crunch.

Their report says that some MacBooks have been delayed due to chip shortages, and some iPads were delayed in manufacturing because of the lack of display panels and other display components. That’s lead to “a portion of component orders” back to the second half of the year, perhaps highlighting just how tight the supply is right now.

Nikkei doesn’t mention any specifics on which Apple models are affected or if they’re existing devices or unannounced ones. We’re expecting new iPad Pro models and more Macs powered by Apple silicon, including a 12.9-inch iPad Pro that is rumored to have a mini-LED screen.

The iconic iPhone isn’t affected at this time, but that could change as the constraints put on global manufacturing by the coronavirus pandemic continue. Nikkei‘s sources say that some of the iPhone component availability is “quite tight,” so it could easily slip to become an issue with Apple’s iPhone sales staying strong.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.