Supply Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Apple lists iPhone 4S as "in stock" in most online stores

by Steven Sande (Jan 30th, 2012)

Those TUAW readers who haven't yet caught Siri fever and purchased an iPhone 4S won't have to wait if they finally decide to buy one. Electronista reports that the device is finally listed as "in stock" at the Apple Store for most countries. As recent as two weeks ago, availability times were ...

Ultrabook manufacturers look to plastic as Apple commandeers supplies

by Chris Rawson (Nov 21st, 2011)

Intel's new "Ultrabook" initiative designed to help PC manufacturers churn out MacBook Air clones has hit a snag. According to Digitimes, Apple has gobbled up almost all of the available capacity for producing unibody aluminum parts, which it uses to build the chassis for its notebooks. ...

International iPhone 4S shipping dates already showing delays

by Steven Sande (Oct 7th, 2011)

That didn't take long. Just hours after preordering for the new iPhone 4S began, Electronista is reporting that international orders for the new phone are already showing ship dates of one to two weeks. For some TUAW readers and bloggers, the order process went slowly this morning, indicating ...

Apple's flash-buying clout seen as huge advantage

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jul 27th, 2011)

Apple is not only winning the tablet wars, it's already poised to beat out Intel's new Ultrabook line of tablet-inspired notebooks that are expected to arrive later this year. The Ultrabook is Intel's attempt to merge the instant-on features of a tablet with the power of a notebook. These ...

Analyst ups AAPL on strong projected iPad, iPhone sales

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jul 8th, 2011)

Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley remains bullish on Apple pointing to strong iPhone and iPad sales in June. He's so confident in Apple that he boosted his iPhone sales estimate from 75.5 million million to 77.3 million in 2011. He also predicts Apple will sell a whopping 100.2 ...

iPad 2 shipping times all under one week

by Steven Sande (Jul 8th, 2011)

All of you who have been waiting since March to buy an iPad 2 can now pull out your credit card and make your order. For the first time since the wildly successful tablet began shipping, supply is meeting demand, and shipping times are now under one week. During the first month of sales, ...

Apple's supply demands could affect Amazon tablet production

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jun 30th, 2011)

According to Digitimes, Amazon is shopping around for manufacturers to supply touchscreen panels for its rumored upcoming tablet. The retail giant has supposedly approached TPK Holdings, Wintek, HannStarr Display and J Touch. Two of the four manufacturers, TPK Holdings and Wintek, currently ...

White MacBook supplies very low

by Steven Sande (Jun 29th, 2011)

Students looking forward to picking up a white MacBook are finding that supplies of the bleached 'Books are limited. According to a post on AppleInsider, stocks of MacBooks are sold out at many authorized Apple resellers, including Amazon, MacConnection, and J&R. Other resellers are ...

Labor, materials shortages could affect iPad, iPhone shipments

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 12th, 2011)

A rumor from Digitimes suggests Foxconn may not be able to fulfill Apple's upcoming orders for the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4. Sources from upstream component makers claim the Chinese company is facing a shortage of both labor and materials at its plant in Chengdu, China. This facility is one of ...

Quality issues with LG manufactured panels to blame for iPad 2 shortage

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 6th, 2011)

Quality control problems with LCD panels from LG Display may have contributed to the prolonged shortage of the iPad 2. According to the report from Digitimes, early batches of the 9.7-inch panels supplied by LG had a light leak issue that limited LG's ability to meet demand. As a result, LG ...

Korean carriers suspend iPad 2 online sales

by Steven Sande (May 3rd, 2011)

Korean mobile carriers SK Telecom and KT Corp have suspended online sales of the iPad 2 only a week after the product was launched. According to a report this morning, tight supplies of the tablet were responsible for the suspension. Reuters noted that the SK Telecom website is showing an ...

iPad 2 production shortfall cause: LCD and speaker issues

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 22nd, 2011)

IHS iSuppli cut its forecast for yearly iPad sales following Apple's earnings conference call on April 20. iSuppli predicts the Cupertino company will ship 39.7 million iPads in 2010, a 9.1 percent reduction from its earlier forecast of 43.7 million. Apple confirmed during its earnings ...

iPad 2 ship times decrease to 2-3 weeks

by Michael Grothaus (Apr 4th, 2011)

Shipping times on Apple's website for new iPad 2 orders have decreased to 2-3 weeks as of this morning. That's a far cry from the 4-5 weeks that the store stated shortly after the iPad 2 went on sale. The new shipping times apply to all 18 models of the iPad -- white, black, Wi-Fi, AT&T and ...

Suppliers ramp up to support iPad 2 demand

by Chris Ward (Mar 31st, 2011)

With queues still forming at 4 AM at some Apple stores, and whole countries selling out completely, demand for the iPad 2 is so high that Apple suppliers are ramping up production of its various components. AppleInsider reports that Samsung is hiring 300 new engineers for a semiconductor ...

Tragedy in Japan hasn't "meaningfully impacted iPad 2 supply"

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 25th, 2011)

The Japanese earthquake had a devastating effect on the people of Japan and temporarily shut down many manufacturing facilites. Analysts speculated this disaster might have produced a shortage of key components used in the electronics manufacturing process, but according to Piper Jaffray ...