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Thursday, 5 November 2020

iPhone 12 Said to be Facing Severe Shortage of Power Management Chips

Apple is facing a severe shortage of vital power management chips for the iPhone 12, as well as other devices, according to Bloomberg.

Bloomberg notes that power management is particularly important for the ‌iPhone 12‌ due to its additional camera features and 5G capabilities. Apple has multiple power management chip suppliers, as revealed by a recent teardown from iFixit.

The iPhone 12 Pro uses a power management chip for the camera system from Texas Instruments, and an equivalent chip from STMicroelectronics and Qualcomm for the 5G modem, in addition to a power management chip designed by Apple itself.

The shortage of power management chips is reportedly causing a bottleneck in Apple's already frustrated supply situation, further complicating its ability to meet holiday demand.

Apple is now facing supply constraints across multiple devices, including the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, leading to long wait times for orders. At the end of last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors that the company is "working really, really hard" to remedy the ongoing supply issues.

Earlier today, it was reported that Apple has been repurposing components from iPad models in the ‌iPhone 12 Pro‌ in an effort to meet demand.

Related Roundups: iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro

Tag: bloomberg.com

Buyer's Guide: iPhone 12 (Buy Now), iPhone 12 Pro (Buy Now)

This article, "iPhone 12 Said to be Facing Severe Shortage of Power Management Chips" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Apple Reportedly Using iPad Parts in the iPhone 12 Pro to Combat Shortages

Amid long waiting times for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro around the world, Apple has reportedly placed large orders for older iPhone models and is reallocating iPad parts to make up for shortages, according to Nikkei Asia Review.

Demand for ‌iPhone 12 Pro‌ in particular has been higher than expected, and the issue has reportedly been compounded by supply constraints for specific parts such as power chips and LiDAR components.

Apple is said to be reallocating components from ‌iPad‌ models to the ‌iPhone 12 Pro‌ in an effort to prioritize supply shortages, according to two sources of Nikkei Asia. This has ostensibly affected around two million ‌iPad‌ units, scuppering Apple's ‌iPad‌ production plans for this year.

To "fill empty space on shelves," Apple is apparently also asking suppliers to prepare more than 20 million iPhone 11, iPhone SE, and iPhone XR models for the holiday shopping season and early next year.

The order is equivalent to more than a quarter of the orders Apple placed for the ‌iPhone 12‌ series this year, which is speculated to be around 75 to 80 million units. Nikkei Asia claims that the orders for the ‌iPhone 11‌ and the ‌iPhone SE‌ are close to around ten million units each and faring much better than expected with consumers.

Related Roundups: iPhone SE 2020, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro

Tag: nikkei.com

Buyer's Guide: iPhone SE (Neutral), iPhone 12 (Buy Now), iPhone 12 Pro (Buy Now)

This article, "Apple Reportedly Using iPad Parts in the iPhone 12 Pro to Combat Shortages" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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U.S. Breaks Record With Over 100,000 New Covid-19 Cases in Single Day

The U.S. recorded over 100,000 new cases of covid-19 on Wednesday, according to the Covid Tracking Project. The shockingly high daily case count is a grim milestone that public health experts warn may be surpassed in the coming days and weeks.

Alleged Images of AirPods 3 With 'Pro' Design Shared Online

Leaker known as "DuanRui" has today shared images from Chinese site 52audio of what appears to be redesigned third-generation AirPods.

According to translated text that accompanied the images, the first image supposedly depicts a single "earphone shell" and the "charging cockpit shell." The earbud itself seems to be completely redesigned compared to the first and second-generation ‌AirPods‌, with a larger, rounder shape.

An x-ray of the alleged third-generation ‌AirPods‌ next to an x-ray of the AirPods Pro highlights the potential internal differences between the two models.

The third-generation ‌AirPods‌ are described as "a scaled-down version of ‌AirPods Pro‌," with the "internal structure of the headset and charging box" being "basically the same."

The third-generation ‌AirPods‌ seems to retain its more squarish charging case, compared to the elongated case of ‌AirPods Pro‌. If the images are to scale, then the third-generation ‌AirPods‌ charging case would also be markedly smaller than its predecessor.

A render of the two earbuds shows that they have clearly taken design cues from ‌AirPods Pro‌, with shorter stems and a larger in-ear portion, but without the ‌AirPods Pro‌'s detachable in-ear tips.

The third-generation ‌AirPods‌ will also apparently gain "pressure-sensitive touch" controls from ‌AirPods Pro‌, and this is indicated by depressions in the stem. Without in-ear tips, it is unlikely that they could achieve Active Noise Cancelation, which could serve to differentiate the two models.

Third-generation ‌AirPods‌ have been rumored for some time. The report states that the "AirPods Pro Lite" that were rumored earlier this year were in fact third-generation ‌AirPods‌.

A recent report by Bloomberg surmised that third-generation ‌AirPods‌ would arrive next year with a design similar to ‌‌AirPods Pro‌‌, but minus high-end features such as Active Noise Cancelation.

Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also said that third-generation ‌AirPods‌ will launch in the first half of 2021 with a design and compact system-in-package "similar to ‌AirPods Pro‌." Manufacturers are also reportedly preparing for a 2021 launch.

Although the legitimacy of these images is not yet known, the similarity of the alleged images to a range of leaks from reliable sources is striking. The chances of the images being genuine may also be enhanced by the fact they were shared by DuanRui, who has accurately leaked the correct names of the iPhone 12 models and an iPad Air 4 manual revealing its new design.

Related Roundup: AirPods

Tag: DuanRui

Buyer's Guide: AirPods (Caution)

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Nikkei: Apple Aiming to Produce 2.5 Million Apple Silicon MacBooks by February 2021

Apple is intending to produce 2.5 million MacBooks with Apple Silicon processors by February 2021, according to a new report by Nikkei Asian Review.

The initial production orders for the first MacBooks with ‌Apple Silicon‌ are reportedly equivalent to almost 20 percent of all 12.6 million MacBook shipments in 2019.

Nikkei Asia's sources stated that the ‌Apple Silicon‌ chips within the new MacBooks will be manufactured by TSMC using a five-nanometer fabrication process. This appears to corroborate other rumors that ‌Apple Silicon‌ chips for the Mac will be variants of the A14 chip from the iPad Air and iPhone 12, which is the only Apple chip made using a five-nanometer process so far.

The report claims that Apple will introduce further Mac devices with ‌Apple Silicon‌ in the second quarter of 2021, as Apple gradually replaces the Intel chips across its entire Mac lineup.

The first Macs with ‌Apple Silicon‌ are expected to be unveiled on Tuesday, November 10, at the "One More Thing..." Apple event.

Tags: nikkei.com, Apple Silicon

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