Affected by the supply chain shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple was forced to postpone the release of the iPhone 12 series of smartphones by one month last year. In July 2020, the Cupertino technology giant has already released the news. However, with the relative slowdown of travel bans and blockade measures, Apple has not issued a warning to investors this year that the iPhone 13 will also be postponed.
Even so, Apple mentioned the uncertainty associated with the continuing health crisis and even admitted that the iPhone production line must overcome the core shortage problem. For example, a new report from Asia said that as a major foundry of Apple’s iPhone/Mac chips, TSMC has announced an emergency on Thursday, but it has not yet had a significant impact on operations.
On the other hand, judging from the market performance of the iPhone 12, despite the delay in the release last year, Apple managed to catch up with the demand in the end. In recent quarters, iPhone 12 sales have hit a record high. This shows that despite the ongoing epidemic, consumers can still expect to buy the latest Apple smartphones.
In order to ensure that the production of about 90 million iPhone 13 this year can proceed smoothly, it is said that Apple has taken multiple precautions to reduce risks. For example, Apple ordered a record number of OLED panels from Samsung, ordered A-series chips from TSMC, and guaranteed the production of basic components.
There are also unconfirmed reports that Apple’s arrangement is the highest among TSMC’s customer priorities, which means that the “iPhone 13” in the fall of 2021 will not be postponed. And even if the production of Macs and iPads may be affected by the global chip shortage, the iPhone, which is most valued by Apple, will obviously not face the same fate.
Although Apple has never responded to reports related to the supply chain, the company confirmed earlier this week that the global shortage of cores has affected iPhone production plans for the first time, but the situation is still controllable. The company’s CEO Tim Cook said in the earnings call that it is not custom chips that are facing supply constraints, but components such as screens and audio based on traditional manufacturing nodes.
Most of the restrictions we see can be attributed to industry shortages. But the increase in consumer demand has spawned different types of shortages. In addition, we are also facing some unexpected demand and component shortages, which means that it is difficult for us to get a full set of parts within the expected delivery time.
Cook did not mention iPhone 13 or hinted at any production delays, but the media has already mentioned another detail reported on Friday. According to sources, Fab 18 is TSMC’s most advanced chip manufacturing plant, and will soon launch iPhone/Mac custom chips (A15 Bionic and M1X/M2), which is said to come from here.
However, any accident that affects the production schedule will aggravate the outside world’s concern that the iPhone 13 may encounter release delays, and the legendary 2021 MacBook Pro will be the first to bear the brunt. TSMC confirmed on the 30th that some of Nanke’s factories have encountered air pollution suspected of coming from gas suppliers.
Although it has not been further confirmed whether the accident occurred in Fab 18, the company is carrying out a’strict’ follow-up operation to ensure that it will not encounter quality problems. More importantly, TSMC does not expect this incident to have a significant impact on operations. According to sources, the impact of pollution on production is quite limited. However, in response to the crisis, TSMC has recruited employees who had returned home before returning to work.
