The long wait for new laptops is going to be even longer.
It’s a very exciting time to be shopping for a Mac. Apple’s just-announced “Unleashed” event is likely to bring new MacBook Pros, which will usher in the next generation of Apple’s system on a chip. The debut of the first SoC, the M1, was such a spectacular one, and the M1X will only build on those tremendous leaps in performance. When you tie that together with the rumored redesign and new features, “Unleashed” is an event we can’t wait to arrive.
But there’s a very real possibility that the excitement will be tempered by forces beyond anyone’s control, even Apple’s. Reports of component and chip supply problems in the tech industry have been constant throughout 2021, and there are no signs that the situation will change anytime soon. Moody’s Analytics said in a report on Monday that the supply chain problem could get even worse. We’ve been hearing reports for months that the MacBook Pro has already been delayed by months due to production and supply issues, and it’s a very real possibility that the new machine is nearly impossible to find once it goes on sale.
“The PC industry continues to be hampered by supply and logistical challenges and unfortunately these issues have not seen much improvement in recent months,” said IDC analyst Jitesh Ubrani in a recent report. [Editor’s note: IDC and Macworld are owned by the same parent company, IDG.] In a separate report, Canalys analyst Ishan Dutt echoed this same thought, saying, “The shortfall in supply of PCs is expected to last well into 2022, with the holiday season of this year set to see a significant portion of orders not met.”
Read more at MacWorld.com