Apple has reportedly cut orders from a supply chain member, due to a high rate in defects of bearings meant for use in the MacBook Air.
A MacBook Air hinge uses bearings.
Apple has a notoriously high standard when it comes to components from suppliers. In the case of one supplier involved in the MacBook Air supply chain, they have apparently fallen below that standard.
According to DigiTimes, Apple has suspended orders from supplier Kunshan Kersen Science and Technology. Supplies of the components will instead come from Amphenol, Shin Zhu Shing, and Jarllytech until the end of the year.
The suspension is due to quality control issues on bearings, industry sources told the report. While there were seemingly defects in the bearings from the beginning, Apple only discovered the problems later on during destructive testing.
The sources add that none of the faulty bearings reached the market. Consumers would typically see bearing issues in about a year or two, rather than the accelerated process Apple uses in its testing.
Bearings are used in a few places in the construction of a notebook. They are typically used to support moving parts, such as fans and hinges.