As the first half of 2021 has passed by, Tech Lovers all around the world are getting excited about the release season(Fall Events). The second half or third of a year is the time when most tech giants like Apple, Samsung, Sony, etc release their new products. But, this year might witness a change of case, as there is reportedly going to be a shortage of Apple devices during the latter half of 2021.
Tim Cook the CEO of Apple opened up about a dilemma that is going to haunt Apple fans for the rest half of the year. According to Cook, numerous Apple products might be subjected to supply constraints as the new Silicon Chipset implementation phase is taking more time than expected.
The Silicon Chip from Apple is a new processing device that was released by Apple back in 2019 with the new MacBook Pro. This new multi-threaded processor:
- Would be way faster than its predecessors.
- Cost less.
- Be able to handle heavy workloads more efficiently, and
- Would dissipate less heat.
Thus, Apple planned to upgrade each of its device’s processors this year with the new Apple Silicon Chipset. But, Alas!
Why is there going to be a supply constraint?
Most Silicon chipsets of Apple are manufactured and assembled in the US and other selected Asian countries. These chipsets require pure Silicon ore which needs to be imported from numerous parts of the world. As the COVID-19 pandemic hit us in 2019 the trade chain of the whole world got affected.
According to census reports, more than $4 trillion was lost due to a lack of materials and manpower over the course of the pandemic. Moreover, as a measure to stop the spread of any other pandemics in the State, the Legislative Assembly passed laws that limited trade relations between the USA and other countries. So, right now no matter how much Apple tries they cannot produce enough chips to meet the demand of the market.
Plus, integrating the chip is also a laborious process. A whole new chassis and electronic circuits need to be built to house the new Silicon Chipset and, with the lack of metals like Zinc, Tungsten, Lithium, Precious Metals, etc production of electronic circuits are also suffering massively.
How is this supply constraint going to affect Apple?
According to sources, Apple might be subject to losing more than $4 billion this year alone due to the shortage of resources. And this condition might continue to drag on for the following year as the trade routes are still not functioning normally. Another source also suggests Apple might have to delay the launch of new products due to the shortage.
The devices which are going to suffer the most during this crisis are:
- iPhones - iPhone 12 and its variants to be particular.
- iPads
- MacBook - both the Pro and Air variants.
- iMacs
Will other tech companies also face similar problems?
Not exactly, as most other tech manufacturers are natively based in Asia or Europe which will give them more exposure to raw materials and manpower than Apple. Plus, if you look from a geographical perspective. Europe, Africa, and Asia are located side by side in the globe but both the Americas are divided by vast water bodies. So, until and unless trans-Atlantic trade gets back to normal things are not looking good for Apple.
Conclusion
In the end, we would like to say. The second hand of 2021 is not going to be as promising as we might have perceived. There will no doubt be a shortage of Apple products in the market for some time and we will just have to deal with it. All we can do now is hope for better things in the future.
Hope you liked the article. Comment down your views on this unexpected supply constraint and which new Apple product you are eagerly waiting for. Most importantly don’t forget to come back for more great content. Good Day!
