Apple is said to have made fifty percent fewer iPads in September and October than it had previously anticipated, in order to unlock components for the iPhone 13 series. In addition, the company would have produced fewer older iPhones to unlock chips.
Multiple unnamed sources tell Nikkei Asia that Apple has been giving production priority to the iPhone 13 for the past two months to ensure there are enough phones on the shelves at release. However, current chip shortages have reduced the company’s ability to produce iPads and older iPhones, as the chips needed to do so have gone to iPhone 13 phones.
Apple’s tablets and smartphones share multiple chips, both in core and minor components. Therefore, in times of scarcity, Apple could make sure to give more important products chip preference. The company also did this last year with the introduction of the iPhone 12, the business newspaper writes.
The newspaper further notes that due to the reduced iPad production, it also takes longer for a purchased tablet to be delivered. For example, a silver iPad with 256GB storage that was ordered on Tuesday will not be delivered until early December. An ordered iPhone 13 with 128GB storage will be delivered next week.
In the quarterly figures that Apple presented last week, the company already announced that it had delivery problems. That would have cost the company about $6 billion in sales in the past quarter. At the time, however, the company did not indicate that it would reduce production of iPads and older iPhones to give more priority to the new iPhones.