The American technology giant Apple has substantially cut the production of iPads to have greater availability of components for the manufacture of the iPhone 13, according to the Japanese newspaper ‘Nikkei’, citing multiple unidentified sources.
The production of iPad tablets would have been reduced by 50% in the last twelve months with respect to the original plans of the company, said knowledgeable sources, adding that those components destined for the older iPhones will also carry over to the manufacture of the iPhone 13.
In this way, Apple would be prioritizing the production of the iPhone 13 by anticipating a greater demand for the ‘smartphone’ than for the iPad as western markets, which represent approximately two-thirds of its demand, begin to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. .
Likewise, the multinational would take into account that the peak of sales of the new iPhones occurs a few months after the launch, so guaranteeing a smooth production for the iPhone 13, launched on September 24, is one of the main priorities of Apple right now.
It is not the first time that Apple has prioritized iPhones over iPads, as in 2020 it reassigned some parts of the iPad to the iPhone 12, its first full range of 5G phones, to protect its most iconic product from the constraints of the supply chain. supply during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last week, Apple announced that at the end of its fiscal year it obtained a net profit of 94,680 million dollars (81,422 million euros), which represents an increase of 64.9% compared to the previous year, although it warned of the impact on its accounts of supply chain problems.
In this sense, Tim Cook, CEO of the multinational recognized that the evolution of the last quarter of the multinational suffered an adverse impact of some 6,000 million dollars (5,156 million euros) derived from the supply restrictions, “and that affected the iPhone, iPad and Mac “.
The chief executive of Apple pointed out that this problem was motivated by the shortage of chips, as well as manufacturing interruptions related to Covid-19 in Southeast Asia, although he stressed that this second factor has improved in recent months, so that the lack of chips will be the main element of the supply problems.
“It will affect, it is affecting, I should say, practically most of our products today, but from a demand point of view, the demand is very strong,” said Cook, who acknowledged that the impact of the restrictions in the current quarter they will be greater than the 6,000 million dollars corresponding to the period between July and September.
Apple’s sales in the whole of its last fiscal year increased by 33.2% year-on-year, to 365,817 million dollars (314,594 million euros), with an increase of 34.7% in product sales, up to 297,392 million dollars (255,750 million euros) and 27.2% of the commercialization of services, up to 68,425 million dollars (58,848 million dollars).
Specifically, iPhone sales in the fiscal year reported to Apple 191,973 million dollars (165,092 million euros), 39.3% more, while Mac sales increased 22.9%, to 35,190 million dollars (30,262 million euros) and revenue from iPad sales grew by 34.3% to 31,862 million dollars (27,400 million euros).
On his side, sales of wearables and accessories totaled 38,367 million dollars (32,995 million euros), 25.3% more than a year before, while Apple’s service income grew 27.2% , up to 68,425 million dollars (58,844 million euros).
