Get Your Apple Products Now, Shortages Expected
Apple products are going to be tough to get.
This article is more than 2 years old
If you are wanting a new Apple product, it may be a good idea for you to get on that sooner rather than later. Apple’s manufacturer is now warning consumers that another shortage of Apple-made electronics is coming.
The Verge reports that Foxconn, the manufacturer of Apple products as well other big-name tech companies, expects shortages to continue well into next year. This is discouraging, but only because it indicates that the pandemic is still here and it’s still causing major problems.
Luckily, the higher-ups at the company believe the shortage will not be particularly hard-hitting. At least, not just yet. Foxconn’s CEO, Young Liu, mentioned that he only expects the company to miss 10% of its orders due to delayed delivery of Apple parts. The COVID-19 pandemic has been causing manufacturing delays off and on since early last spring when everything first started to shut down and workers were promptly sent home. In fact, quarantined factory workers were a big reason for that first shortage. Not exactly a work-from-home kind of gig. Now, while this new problem may not be as dramatic or as noticeable as it was last year, it does have the potential to impact those needing new iPhones, iPads, etc.
It will be interesting to see how these shortages actually end up impacting consumers, and if people even notice. Many people don’t realize just how much goes into the process of getting these products into their hands. They just expect to find what they need every trip to the Apple store.
But these industry-wide shortages have also reportedly affected launches of highly anticipated products. The iPhone 12 supposedly suffered delays last year, but people waiting to line up to be the first to get it often do not know or care about that.
The length of the delay is more concerning than the delay itself. The pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives, from our ability to go see movies in the theater to our freedom to go to our favorite breweries worry-free. But an Apple delay lasting over a year indicates that the pandemic may not be as close to done as the hopeful want to believe. Yes, that is even with the current vaccine rollouts.
Liu predicts that the shortage will last into the second quarter of 2022. If this past year has taught us anything, let it be that things can change dramatically in an instant. Obviously, a shortage of Apple products is far from the worst of our worries, but it is a minor inconvenience that you can avoid by planning for it and getting what you need before you really need it. It is kind of like those toilet paper shortages last year, except not really. Toilet paper is a necessity. iPhones are a luxury. Anyway, the point is that COVID is still making it tough to obtain everyday items, and that stinks.
Hopefully, Liu’s predictions are off and we can go back to, ya know, not worrying about supply chains every day.
