What They Say
Nikkei reported that Apple is moving restricted chip supplies to the iPhone 13 rather than its iPad production. It put the rate of cut back as at 50% of the original plans for September and October. The paper reports that Apple’s peak sales of particular iPhones come within a few months of the announcement, so catching that wave is a priority for Apple.
Apple acknowledged that supply chain constraints meant that Q3 sales were $6 billion lower than they might have been. Counterpoint Research suggested that those wanting a new smartphone might be more will to consider switching to Android, while tablet customers might be more prepared to wait to stay with Apple.
What We Think
Both Strategy Analytics and IDC have reported slowing tablet sales in Q3. I conducted a small survey of the Apple UK website and found the half a dozen different model/configuration options were all in stock, so it doesn’t look as though Apple has a big problem with inventory, yet. (BR)
