Apple is expected to announce new iPad Pro models this year, but the larger 12.9-inch variant may be delayed as a result of lacking display components. Tech companies all around the world are experiencing the effects of the ongoing chip shortage, which doesn't show any signs of stopping any time soon. People are buying computers, tablets, and other gadgets at a rapid pace, supply chains are still trying to get back up to pre-pandemic speed, and the demand is consistently overpowering what can be manufactured.

While people can still go out and buy a lot of tech products without any hassle, the side effects of the chip shortage have already been very prevalent in the consumer space. The Xbox Series X|S and PS5 are still nearly impossible to buy, computer components like graphics cards face the same fate, and any of these items that are available for purchase are being sold at ridiculous markups by online scalpers. In the coming weeks/months, Apple may be the next company to be faced with lacking inventory.

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As reported by Bloomberg, the upcoming iPad Pro is now facing concerning production delays. It's said that the 12.9-inch variant of the iPad Pro will feature an upgraded display using MiniLED technology, but unfortunately for Apple, that MiniLED tech is in short supply. Apple is expected to announce the refreshed iPad Pro lineup like normal (possibly sometime this month), but per the report, "the production hiccup could mean that the larger iPad Pro will ship later and be available in constrained quantities to begin with." 

What This Means For Apple In 2021

For some context, this isn't the first report to come out suggesting that Apple is facing production delays. Similar news broke just a few days prior, indicating that Apple has had to temporarily stop certain production lines for both the iPad and MacBook. From that report, it was said that Apple had to delay some component orders for the iPad and MacBook "from the first half of this year to the second half." While Apple is far from the first company to be hit with production delays during the chip shortage, it's more notable seeing as how Apple is usually one of the best in the business when it comes to managing supply chains.

Moving forward throughout the rest of 2021, it'll be interesting to see what other Apple products could be hit with similar delays. In addition to the iPad Pro, other expected Apple hardware for this year includes a new Apple TV, AirPods 3, iPhone 13, a redesigned iMac, and more. That's a lot of hardware that'll be announced over the coming months, and while it's previously been reported that the iPhone has yet to face delays seen by the iPad and MacBook, that's not to say that won't change.

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Source: Bloomberg