iPhone 13 production to take a hit as Apple faces chip shortage

A new report indicates that Apple has cut down its expectations on the iPhone 13 production this year due to the ongoing chip shortage. Sources indicate that the company has conveyed the same to its manufacturing partners as well. iPhone 13 Pro Max (Image: India Today Tech)HIGHLIGHTSApple hoped to produce 90 million iPhone 13 units by this year’s end.It is likely that it will not meet this target with the ongoing chip shortage.The supply shortage is being experienced from two major suppliers of Apple.It seems like the ongoing chip shortage is going to have a major impact on the iPhone 13 production this year. While Apple had expected to produce 90 million new iPhone models in the last three months of the year, it might have to cut this projection down by as many as 10 million units.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that Apple is the latest victim of the supply constraints on chipsets used in smartphones. The sources suggest that the projected iPhone production will not be met because Broadcom Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. are struggling to deliver the required units. Broadcom Inc. supplies wireless components for iPhones while the latter provides various chipset components and displays to Apple.A similar component shortage from other suppliers also dampens Apple’s plans. The report mentions that Apple has addressed the issue in front of its other manufacturing partners and informed them of the lower-than-expected iPhone production this year.The issue will build upon the already delayed run of the iPhone 13 Pro models. The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max units that have already been ordered through the Apple website are expected to be delivered by next month. Shipment delays are also affecting the availability of the models in offline stores.It is not that Apple was clueless about this impending impact of chip shortage on its iPhone 13 sales. Apple CEO Tim Cook had predicted this back in July during a call with investors, stating that the chip shortage around the world will affect the production of iPhones in the coming months. By then, iMacs and iPads were already seeing a delayed shipment due to the supply constraint.The tech major tried to dissolve this effect by redirecting its available resources to the latest iPhones. For this, Apple discontinued iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max right after the launch of the iPhone 13 series. Though that certainly can’t make up for the huge drop in supply that is being experienced across the industry.Apple’s struggle with chip supply is a stark reminder of how acute the problem is. With the technology behemoth unable to secure enough chip supplies for its products, it can only be imagined what the not-so-big players in the industry would be facing at this point. Analysts predict that the chip supply will continue to be dismal throughout next year.Click here for our site’s complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.