kuo: Apple Silicon MacBook shipments to be cut by 15% in the first half of 2022, claims tech analyst – Times of India

In his latest investor note, reliable tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has claimed that Apple Silicon MacBook shipments will be cut approximately by 15% in the first half of 2022. This may be due to component shortages, structural demand change in the post- COVID-19 era, and product transition between legacy and new models, says a report by MacRumors.
As per Kuo, the component shortage will occur due to a lack of power management integrated circuits and is going to affect all the brands but will coincide with the capacity expansion of Unimicron, one of the major providers of Integrated Circuits in Taiwan. Unimicron also happens to be the only supplier of the Apple silicon ABF substrate. Kuo adds that to cut the risk, Unimicron could step up efforts to secure non-Apple ABF substrate orders.
Also, more people are expected to be working from offices in the coming year, which could also make for lesser Apple MacBook models being sold, in addition to inflation.
Coming to the third reason, the tech analyst predicts that a new redesigned MacBook Air powered by Apple Silicon will enter mass production in the early part of Q3 2022, which would make the second-half of 2022 a product transition period.
Kuo had earlier claimed that newly redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro models will enter mass production in Q3 2021. The analyst says that Apple plans to adopt the mini-LED display of the iPad Pro for its future products including the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.
He also said that MacBook Pro will come in a “flat-edged design”, something similar to what has been seen on the latest iMac, iPad Pro and iPhone 12. Apple could also put in the M1X chip, the more powerful version of the M1 chip, in the MacBook Pro.