Apple's high-end MacBook Pro models appear to be affected by supply shortages in major Chinese manufacturing cities, while iPhone SE stocks have not yet been affected.
In a Tweet on Wednesday, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo notes that delivery times for Apple's new MacBook Pro are extending by three to five weeks after authorities in Shanghai and Kunshan declared Covid-19 lockdowns that halted production. Interestingly, delivery times for the new iPhone SE have not yet extended. Kuo suspects this is because current inventories of the model are sufficient to meet what he calls "weak demand." This is in contrast to the MacBook Pro, which Kuo says has seen good demand since its launch. The iPhone SE is produced by Pegatron, which is affected by the closures in Shanghai and Kunshan.
New iPhone SE arouses little interest
Quanta Computer is the sole supplier of high-end MacBook Pro models and is also located in Kunshan. A number of key Apple suppliers have been affected by the lockdowns imposed in early April in response to the worsening Covid-19 situation in Shanghai. Suppliers in the region include Pegatron, Quanta, Foxconn, Wistron and Luxshare Precision. This is not the first time Kuo has spoken of weak demand in relation to the new iPhone SE. Back in March, the analyst suspected that Apple was cutting production orders for the low-end model after the iPhone encountered weak demand. However, suppliers have contradicted this forecast, saying they have not received any instructions to cut production. (Photo by Jshanebutt / Bigstockphoto)