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.
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Source: Digitimes
