iPhone 13: component shortage forces Apple to produce 10 million fewer smartphones

Apple is not immune to the shortage of components. While the firm planned to manufacture 100 million iPhone 13s in the months following its launch, it was forced to revise its ambitions down to 10 million. Indeed, it encounters some difficulties in obtaining a chip, in particular those which supply the 120 Hz screen.

Apple was caught up by its ambition. Before the release of the iPhone 13, the manufacturer planned to produce 100 million copies. This is more than usual, since the first months after the launch see more 75 million of smartphones hit the market. It was therefore a relatively strange forecast on the part of the Cupertino company, in a context of component shortage affecting the entire tech industry, without distinction. It was not lacking.

Indeed, an internal source reports that now, Apple hopes to manufacture 90 million iPhone 13s. The group is encountering more difficulties than expected in sourcing chips from its partners Broadcom Inc. and Texas Instruments. As a reminder, the first is responsible for supplying Apple with components for wireless technologies, while the second is responsible for delivering the different parts of the smartphone screen. Furthermore, Texas Instruments isn’t building enough chips to power OLED displays.

On the same topic: iPhone 13 – 76% of users don’t want it, Apple missed the mark

Apple takes the brunt of component shortage

These difficulties necessarily have repercussions on sales. Starting with pre-orders, which were a real ordeal for anyone who wanted to get an iPhone 13 in advance. On the delivery side too, things are not really looking good. Users who buy their smartphone today won’t receive it until mid-November, and Apple is already attesting to several delays in shipping. At many resellers, the iPhone 13 appears to be out of stock.

This is a huge shortfall for Apple, whose revenue was initially expected to reach $ 120 billion at this time of year. To fill the gap, the Cupertino company is putting pressure on all its suppliers, forced to leave their other customers aside. Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce of the United States, recently proposed a $ 52 billion plan to help the components industry.

Source: Bloomberg