Apple is facing a shortage of power management chips which are an integral part of its iPhone 12 line-up, along with older iPhone models, as well as other devices. This means that the company might face issues with meeting demand for its devices this holiday season, and customers might see extended shipping times.
iPhone 12 component shortages
The new report comes from Bloomberg, which is usually spot on thanks to its sources who have close knowledge of Apple’s supply chain. Apple plans to ship between 75 million to 80 million iPhone 12 models this year, which makes this component shortage and extremely crucial issue to solve for Tim Cook and company. Suppliers are prioritizing component production for Apple and its iPhone 12 over other customers, as the Cupertino giant is usually the biggest client any supplier can get.
Due to COVID-19’s impact on production around the world, there has been a shortage in supply for various components. As iPhone 12 features 5G networking, its power usage has also gone up by 30% – 40%, as per Bloomberg. Because of the pandemic, and sanctions faced by Huawei, it had stocked up such components which has had additional impact on the shortage. It is important to note that Apple is not the only company facing supply constraints at the moment.
It is certain that Apple would have foreseen this issue a few months ago and must have planned solutions to meet consumer demand. As we are still in the midst of the pandemic, nobody can say for certain when the constraints will end. This year has also been notable for it is the first time that Apple launched four new versions of an iPhone 12, which would have increased the demand for various components, some of which Apple itself designs in-house.
At the time of writing, only iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are on sale, with iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max to go on sale soon. iPhone 12 Pro is already showing longer shipping times, up to a month away for some customers. When the remaining two iPhone 12 models go on sale, we expect shipping times to take further hit across the world. With holiday season demand coming up, it might be a few months before we see shipping times go back to normal.
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