Apple suppliers gearing up for new AirPods, MacBook Pro releases in late 2021

Companies in Apple's supply chain are reportedly increasing production and hiring further staff now to meet Apple's orders for new AirPods and at least one new MacBook Pro.

Apple component suppliers are said to have "recently accelerated" their work because of "significantly stronger" orders for products being released in the second half of 2021.

According to Economic Daily News, the Shin Zu Shing company which produces bearings, is estimating that MacBook shipments will be up 15% year on year. That would mean 23 million units, and at the same time the company is expecting to decrease its shipment of AirPods by up to 30%, or up to 30 million.

There's no indication of what model MacBooks are involved, but it is most likely to be the expected revision of the MacBook Pro.

Economic Daily News says that the production increase comes after what it describes as a sluggish first half of the year. It attributes that to Apple adjusting its inventory plans, and also to issues over shortages of materials for key components.

It's further said that the company has insufficient manpower to meet its orders, and so has been "urgently" recruiting 300 further staff for its Taiwan factory.

Tuesday's report also cites sources saying that the supplier is involved in bearings for foldable phones. However, it's not clear whether this is for an Apple iPhone Fold.

The Economic Daily News has a decent track record on reporting from inside Apple's supply chain. It has a notably poorer one when it tries to predict Apple's product plans, or features.

Separately, other sources have reported that the MacBook Pro has been delayed because of a shortage of mini LED displays. Those reports also put the expected release date as being in the third or fourth quarter of 2021.

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3 Comments

palegolas 1362 comments · 19 Years

About 3 years ago

I hope the "pro" Macbook Pro 15"/ 16" or whatever the size and name is gonna be, will look respectable and serene… and not flirtatious and fun and feel outlooked after a nights sleep. I'm in my 4 year upgrade cycle, and feeling ready for an Apple Silicon upgrade. But I'm getting anxious because of the iMacs and entry level Macbook redesign rumours sort of falling in that latter category for my taste…

Marvin 15335 comments · 18 Years

palegolas said:

I hope the "pro" Macbook Pro 15"/ 16" or whatever the size and name is gonna be, will look respectable and serene… and not flirtatious and fun and feel outlooked after a nights sleep. I'm in my 4 year upgrade cycle, and feeling ready for an Apple Silicon upgrade. But I'm getting anxious because of the iMacs and entry level Macbook redesign rumours sort of falling in that latter category for my taste…

They've done this style before with the laptops:

Their iPods have used darker colored metal:

They could potentially offer different colors than silver and space grey. They seem to have dropped the space grey mini and the external space grey keyboard. There must have been some people using the space grey keyboard with their MBP.

I hope there will still be a space grey MBP, I have one and it's the nicest laptop design I've ever seen.

One reason they might not do colors in the 16" MBP and 27" iMac is inventory. These models sell much fewer units and they tend to lower the options when there's low unit volume.

For the Macbook Air though, these kind of color options would be nice, deep metal blue and red. A white bezel is distracting in bright environments. It is reflective rather than transmissive like the display so indoors a white bezel isn't so noticeable but in bright light, it can be brighter than the display so ideally with black bezel and black keys (if it had a white bezel, it would have white keys too).

Marvin said:
For the Macbook Air though, these kind of color options would be nice

Yeah I was around when that iBook was introduced. In retrospect referred to as the Toilet Seat iBook? 😜 I just hope that they keep the flirtatious consumer design and the pro design separate. I can imagine the design team trying out a sick amount of ideas… some wanting to be bold, some more conservative. And after the departure of Jony Ives they must be feeling the pressure to both live up to the high standards, at the same time as wanting to redefine the design. It's like as if they're in a pinch. Fingers crossed!

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