A new report claims that the next-gen iPad Pro, set to be unveiled early in 2017, could be delayed due to lower-than-expected yield rates on the 10-nanometer A10X chips used in the device.
The company experiencing problems is reportedly Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which has increasingly been Apple’s go-to chipmaker. Unfortunately, the company’s problems could well delay production of Apple’s orders in the new year.
iPad sales suffered this year, and could hit a record low in 2017. A previous report suggested that Apple has lowered its orders for iPad components, and that things are unlikely to pick up until 2018, when the company does its next big product upgrade.
This echoes what well-connected KGI Securities Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously said. He claimed that iPad shipments will fall 10 percent to 20 percent year-on-year in 2017, and that new devices are unlikely to be a big driver of growth.
TSMC only recently surged ahead of rival Samsung to take a more sizable share of Apple’s chip orders. But if TSMC really is having trouble producing chips to Apple’s specifications and quantities, it could be bad news for the company.
What would persuade you to buy an iPad in 2017? Leave your comments below.
Source: Digitimes
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
6 responses to “Chip problems could make us wait for new iPad Pros”
I doubt I’ll be buying. I have an iPad already and almost never use it. I like it but yet I can find no compelling use case. If I need to really get down to work then I do it on a Mac (remember the days Apple used to ship these instead of talking about it?). If it’s replying to emails, or even drafting them then the iPhone is more than capable. For content consumption an e-ink Kindle rules. Sometimes you really do need to rest your eyes from screen glare. So no, I won’t be buying.
That said delays, underwhelming releases (Powerbook anyone), product refreshes that don’t happen or happen only ever couple of years, and difficulty even getting airborne seems to be the new normal with apple. Because Apple’s figures are still stellar they’re still getting a pass on sites like this but unless there’s serious course correction those stellar figures won’t last that much longer. Apple is still dining off Steve Jobs. Tim Cook simply isn’t up to the job and Ive seems to be running his own fiefdom within Apple where every takes place on his, increasingly leisurely, clock or not at all. “Real artists ship.”
I probobly buy it to replace my iPad mini 4.
Great device. Actually my most used one. Maybe i also buy an Apple pen and start learning to draw.
Bought an iPAD 3, however, it was just a blown up version of the iPhone. Had iPAD been what it now is, a truly innovative device, with its own set of features I would have enjoyed it. For me the iPad 3 was just too much of the same exact experience I had with my iPhone, in fact at the time a great many of the useful apps were just iPhone apps at 2x zoom.
With that said the iPad pros are rather sufficient computer replacements for the right person. Such as the elderly, or non-computer savvy. It has been a transformative device for my aunt. Touch ID makes her banking so easy, compared to how she would lock herself out of her accounts almost every month.
I guess what I am getting at, is that many people may have already made up their minds on iPads and tablets due to an earlier experience.
Despite seeing the great potential in iPads, I can’t say I desire to get another one, because I can’t see where I would truly use it. Am I such a douche bag I need to buy a tablet for an hours use prior to bedtime? I can easily get by with my computer and iPhone +.
I wouldn’t mind a bigger iPhone so as to merge the two (iPhone and iPad) together. The 7 Plus is not big enough while the iPad mini is too big to carry everywhere. Whatever happened to the iPod touch by the way…?
Doubt we’ll see anything like this soon, or ever. More likely we’ll have an iPhone in the same size but with screens that cover more of the surface.
Apple still sells iPod Touch.
Barring any accidents or loss, I figure I still have 1-2 years of life left on my iPad 4. I upgraded to iOS 10.2, which will absolutely be the last upgrade I do. It’s slow, but it still does everything I need and want it to do. It’s become my default ebook reader, most games, and facebook.
What will I do when it’s time to replace/upgrade? It depends on what my options are at the time. I like the 9.7 inch form factor a lot, but the larger screen is nice as long as it’s not too heavy (I put all my devices in cases, I’m accident prone).