Apple products, including the iPhone 12, could be hit by supply chain constraints as a global chip shortage beckons, warned the company.
Despite the iPhone 12 being a key driver for growth and Apple announcing record quarterly revenue for the first three months to 27 March, the forecast for the current quarter suddenly looks less promising.
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As reported by Mobile World Live, the company is now expecting a revenue hit of between $3 billion and $4 billion, as supply chain constraints look set to limit its ability to grow during the current quarter.
Apple noted products impacted by shortages are those in greatest demand due to home working and schooling. It cited Europe as an example, with iPads and Macs highly sought-after due to ongoing Covid-19 (coronavirus) lockdowns, although high demand for the iPhone 12 could lead to shortages there too.
The iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max all feature the new A14 Bionic chipset Apple, billed at launch as the fastest CPU and GPU available in a smartphone. Other models that may be affected include the iPhone 11, iPhone XR and iPhone SE.
It remains unclear whether the recently announced iPad Pro (2021) and iMac (2021) are exempt from this chip shortage. However, both products are now available to pre-order from today.
CEO Tim Cook commented Apple is “supply gated, not demand gated”, adding most shortages involved so-called “legacy nodes” due to appetite from multiple industries, a spread which made it hard to predict when the situation might ease.
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