Malcolm Owen
A dubious report claims that Apple allegedly paused production of M2 chips at the beginning of 2023, caused by an apparent slump in Mac sales.
The demand of products can impact the supply chain heavily, as Apple tries to balance manufacturing to the needs of its customers. A report claims that Apple stopped production of M2 chips early in 2023, because sales of its Mac and MacBooks had allegedly stalled.
According to sources of TheElec, Apple "completely stopped production" of the M2 system-on-chip for MacBook models in January and February. While some production resumed in March, it is said that the level is only half that of the same period in 2022.
The source explained that a slump in the finished product market indicates it is a serious situation, more than previously expected.
The Outsourcing Semiconductor Package Test (OSAT) said on Monday that TSMC didn't send 5-nanometer process M2 wafers for assessment in January and February. Apple apparently requested a pause in production due to decreased MacBook demand.
While TheElec is reasonable when it comes to supply chain stories, the reasoning behind this one seems a little far-fetched.
Some of this report makes sense. Apple had a hard time keeping products on store shelves during the Christmas season because of supply issues, while M2 processor production kept on going. The alleged "pause" may have just been a period of time where Apple had more chips on hand in the short term than it needed.
Other analysts have pointed to an overall PC market decline, but with Apple maintaining flat sales across 2022. Analyst predictions for Mac sales in Q1 2023 are also forecast to be good, with Apple being a high point in a declining industry.
Also, while it's entirely within Apple's power to pause production of a key component, this sort of activity normally would've been picked up on by observers and leakers earlier in the year.
Charles Martin
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Andrew Orr
21 Comments
Macs aren't the only Apple products to use the M2 chip.
Interesting. The comments sections over at MacRumors and 9to5Mac are filling up with dozens of "Apple is done for" recriminations, reasons for failure, predictions of doom, instructions on how Apple can save itself from disaster etc. All over a single supply chain report of dubious veracity that AppleInsider has labeled "unlikely".
Rumor based tech blogs are the perfect place for the disgruntled to rage and spew... and for fanboys to unload. C'est la goddamn vie.
Presumably the M3 will be replacing the M2 starting sometime this year (likely first in the MBA, Apple's highest volume Mac). Several months before that happens, Apple will likely shift production from the M2 to the M3 (not completely, but substantially). This story may reflect that process happening a bit earlier than Apple had originally planned, and that may indeed be due to weaker than anticipated demand. It's just very hard to know *how* much weaker the demand is relative to previous expectations.
The 5nm M2 was a stop gap anyway because 3nm wasn't ready in time so it's not surprising they ended manufacturing early given 3nm is ready now.
Sounds like some analyst wants to scoop up some Apple stock at a slight discount.