Apple's manufacturing partners are reportedly having difficulty producing key components for the top models of the recently announced iPad Pro line, pushing the flagship tablet's availability back to July.
The new iPad Pro, which was unveiled at a virtual event in April, includes the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Liquid Retina XDR display. The production of the screen, which features mini-LED technology, is reportedly causing unexpected delivery delays. Citing sources familiar with the matter, reported Bloomberg that Apple's partners are struggling to produce the complicated 12.9-inch screen in large quantities. Unlike traditional LCD screens, the Liquid Retina XDR groups 10,000 mini-LEDs in 2,500 different dimming zones to achieve an extremely high contrast ratio.
iPad & Mac: Apple has already warned of delays
The reported display problems, coupled with a larger global chip shortage, have pushed the availability of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro into July - according to the Apple Online Store. The delays could be exacerbated by further restrictions. Reports in April first suggested that Apple suppliers were struggling with problems producing mini-LEDs, although the exact impact of the shortage was not known at the time. Apple itself warned of iPad and Mac delivery problems well into the second half of 2021. Apple CEO Tim Cook explained on the last conference call:
We assume that we depend on supply, not demand.
Apple's 11-inch iPad Pro, which has a traditional LCD display, is also in short supply, although the restrictions are attributed to high interest at launch time rather than production bottlenecks. (Image: Apple)
