Apple seems to be encountering a lot of supply chain hiccups recently and the next generation iPads could be the latest devices to be affected.
Quoting information from industry sources, DigiTimes said that yield rates of 10nm chips from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Samsung are lower than expected. Apple's A10X chips, which are built on the 10nm processes, are believed to begin mass production in Q1 2017.
The poor yields could potentially affect Apple's plans to launch the new iPads in March. This could also lead to stock shortages of the new iPads at launch, an issue which Apple customers regularly face. Qualcomm, another customer of Samsung's foundries, is said to have become more conservative about its 2017 roadmap; only the Snapdragon 835 chipsets will be built on the 10nm process.
It has been widely rumored that Apple would launch three new iPad models in March. KGI securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believed that there would be a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, a 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2 and a more affordable 9.7-inch iPad model. Japanese site Macotakara claims that Apple would launch an upgraded version of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a slightly larger 10.1-inch iPad Pro, and a 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
Source: DigiTimes via AppleInsider
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