MacBook and iPad production delayed as supply crunch hits Apple

US tech giant's headaches suggest even worse chip shortages lie ahead

20210407 Macbook laptops

People check out products at an Apple Store in Beijing: A worsening shortage of semiconductors is beginning to affect production, despite the U.S. gadget maker's buying clout.  © Getty Images

CHENG TING-FANG and LAULY LI, Nikkei staff writers

TAIPEI -- Production of some MacBooks and iPads has been postponed due to the global component shortage, Nikkei Asia has learned, in a sign that even Apple, with its massive procurement power, is not immune from the unprecedented supply crunch.

Chip shortages have caused delays in a key step in MacBook production -- the mounting of components on printed circuit boards before final assembly -- sources briefed on the matter told Nikkei Asia. Some iPad assembly, meanwhile, was postponed because of a shortage of displays and display components, sources said.

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