AppleInsider Staff
New orders of Apple's 21.5-inch desktop iMac are now advertised to ship in 2 to 3 weeks to U.K. customers, suggesting production problems remain for the all-in-one desktop.
Previously, new orders were scheduled to ship in 7 to 10 business days before the estimates slipped on Monday. However, Apple's U.S. store continues to advertise shipping times of 7 to 10 days.
The larger 27-inch iMac is still advertised to ship in 3 to 4 weeks in both Apple's U.S. and U.K. stores.
The new all-in-one desktop is said to have been met with production issues when it launched late last year. Those apparent problems have continued into 2013, as availability remains limited.
AppleInsider was also first to report earlier this month that Apple's reseller channel was completely out of stock of the 21.5-inch model. If the longer shipping times from the U.K. are any indication, the company may not have had much success in improving production to keep up with demand.
Analyst Ming-chi Kuo of KGI Securities revealed in August, months before the new iMacs were unveiled, that production issues were likely. It was said that the screen lamination process in building the new desktops is difficult, particularly with the larger 27-inch model.
Apple CEO Tim Cook also publicly stated in October that his company would face a significant shortage of iMacs in the December quarter. However, no indication was given that the company expected any issues to spill over into calendar 2013.
Cook will likely shed more light on the iMac supply situation this Wednesday during his company's quarterly earnings conference call. Analysts expect Apple shipped 5 million Macs in the quarter, a year over year decrease mostly attributed to limited supply of the new iMacs.
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108 Comments
That's a good sign, but not in an analytical way ¡
Production problems or sales demand?
I was lucky enough to walk into the Apple store in december and get the 27" high end model. Got a $2600 model with i7, fusion drive and the 680mx. They had just received them and the Apple employe told me they usually sell out within hours on the same day.
Its may not be retina but its still spectacular, especially in games.
I think they'll get this resolved before the end of the quarter. I bought my iMac and it came earlier than original expected. It was scheduled to be delivered between the 26th and 31st of the December, but I received it on the 18th. Even UPS delivered it a day ahead of their original projections, which was on the 19th. Go figure. I've talked to local Apple Store reps that I gotten to know pretty well and they told me that they sell out every day from their daily shipments, the demand is fairly high for these products. So whatever production problems they have will get resolved. Now, some of them are being assembled in the US and some in China. Mine was assembled in China.
It suggests no such thing. If all stores slipped it might suggest production issues. But one store alone slipping just means that demand has exceeded current supply and in keeping with Apples style they are extending the times to under promise and possibly over deliver by getting it to folks ahead of expectation, rather than disappointing by having to delay. In some areas it's also a legal issue that those times are a promise to the customer and they can be fined if they don't deliver on time. So they pad extra time into things to cover that as well. These kinds of comments right before an earnings call are more likely bunk and a ploy to drive the price down a bit further to grab a few shares before the numbers come out and the price possibly goes up