An Apple employee wearing a face mask walks past an image of an iPhone 13 Pro at an Apple Store on the day the new Apple iPhone 13 series goes on sale, in Beijing, China, September 24, 2021. (Reuters)
Apple Inc has reduced production of iPad tablets in order to allocate more components to the iPhone 13, indicating that the global chip supply crunch is affecting Apple more severely than previously indicated, according to Nikkei on Tuesday, citing multiple sources.
For the past two months, iPad production has been cut in half compared to Apple’s original plans, according to the newspaper’s website, with parts intended for older iPhones also being switched to the iPhone 13.
Despite the fact that iPhone 13 production was halted in the second half of the year due to factory closures in Asia and high demand, Apple has weathered the supply crunch better than many other companies because of its massive purchasing power and long-term supply agreements with chip vendors, Intel ate into the market share of its competitors in the third quarter.
The iPhone maker is prioritizing iPhone 13 production in part because it expects stronger demand for the smartphone than the iPad as Western markets recover from the pandemic, according to Nikkei, citing unnamed sources.