Apple’s Partners Still Struggling to Meet iPad mini Demand

Apple’s Partners Still Struggling to Meet iPad mini Demand

It’s pretty standard really, Apple releases a new product, and no matter how many resources Apple’s manufacturing and assembly partners throw at production, they still can’t keep up. Guess what? Yup! To no one’s surprise, it’s happening with the iPad mini.

BGR:

According to Digitimes’ supply chain sources, Apple’s parts suppliers have prepared enough components to build between 10 million and 12 million iPad mini tablets in the fourth quarter to accomodate heavy demand. Apple’s manufacturing partners are only expected to ship 8 million assembled units, however.

Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu recently dropped his iPad sales estimates for this quarter from 25 million to 23.5 million. “iPad mini demand remains strong,” Wu wrote, “but shipments appear limited by supply constraints. On the other hand, build plans for iPad appear to have been reduced likely due to some cannibalization by iPad mini.”

DigiTimes report does say that yield rates are improving however, and 13 million iPad mini tablets are expected to be shipped in the first quarter of 2013.