Global chip shortages aren’t anything surprising as of now since every OEM is facing the issue. Apple was quite insulated to the chip shortages as it designs the chipsets by itself, however, many of its products were majorly hit by the chip shortage such as the iPhone 13 series which is expected to last this February next year.
According to a report by Digitimes (paywalled), Apple had a lot more cash reserves in hand that allowed it to negotiate with chip manufacturers in developing chips for its smartphone and other lineups. In fact, Apple’s biggest chip manufacturer TSMC has even directed entire production lines to manufacture chips for Apple. However, it turns out that the shortage has affected a lot of legacy chips such as display drivers. This obstructs the production of phones and this is what has caused delays in the production of the iPhone 13.
According to the sources, the iPhone 13 will resume its terminal demand by early February 2022 which means there will be a shortage meanwhile. Tim Cook posted an investors note that the chip shortage cost the Cupertino-based giant a whopping $6 billion last quarter. Although Tim didn’t mention any figures for this running quarter, I am assuming it’s way more than the last quarter since the Apple 13 series launched back in October 2022.
As mentioned, there’s easing news as well. Chip manufacturers will gradually increase production hoping to put everything in line in February next year mitigating the Apple iPhone 13 supply and demand across the globe.
A number of factors converged and conspired in the global chip shortage including the coronavirus pandemic, long timelines, and great demands from the automotive sector among others. Anyways, keep your fingers crossed and wait for more updates here on True-Tech.
