Apple reportedly facing shortage of iPhone 12 power-management chips

A customer has his temperature taken while in line outside an Apple store to pick up the new iPhone 12. Reuters

Apple is reportedly struggling to secure a steady supply of key power-management chips used in its new iPhone 12 units and other products as it grapples with pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, according to Bloomberg.

“Trade restrictions and supply-chain disruptions from the Covid-19 are the main causes of the shortage,” the news agency reported.

“The US is trying to limit sales to Huawei … and the Chinese company has stocked up on extra components. That’s left fewer parts for other buyers.”

It is still unclear if the chip shortage will have a major impact on iPhone availability ahead of the holiday season.

In Apple’s 2020 fiscal year, which ended on September 26, the company earned more than 33 per cent ($91.8 billion) of its annual revenue during the holiday quarter. This was driven by the rapid sale of iPhone 11 handsets during the quarter.

Power management is a key feature of Apple's new smartphones that were launched last month. Its new handsets – the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max – come with power-draining 5G connectivity and advanced photography features that require many apps to run in the backdrop.

The Cupertino-based company went a step ahead this year to extend battery life – a shortcoming of previous Apple products – across its iPhones.

It built special hardware and software features for the latest iPhone 12 series to alleviate the expected battery drain from the 5G usage. The new phones also have a smart data mode, which extends battery life by assessing 5G needs and balancing data use, speed and power in real time.

Supply disruptions could last for another two quarters, according to Bloomberg and chip suppliers are prioritising Apple orders over other customers.

Apple procures power-management chips from multiple suppliers, according to a recent report by California-based iFixit, a global community of people who help each other repair things.

The company uses chips from Texas Instruments and STMicroelectronics to control power supply to cameras. It uses Qualcomm chips for 5G connectivity.

In 2018, Apple purchased the technology from UK-based Dialog Semiconductor for $600 million to produce its own power-management chips.

Despite launching all four phones within the iPhone 12 series on the same day (October 13), Apple is selling them in different phases. The company started taking orders for the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro models from October 14 but the pre-order demand quickly outstripped supply.