iPad deliveries still as high as nine weeks as Apple prioritizes iPhone 13

Apple Iphone Ipad Availability Beijing Iphone 13 Pro Close Up
Apple Iphone Ipad Availability Beijing Iphone 13 Pro Close Up (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • New data reveals that Apple's iPad range still takes some 9 weeks to ship.
  • Data says the high lead times are affecting some 25 key countries and regions.
  • A report says this is down to Apple's continued decision to prioritize iPhone production.

A new report says that Apple continues to prioritize the production and delivery of its iPhone range, leaving iPad wait times as high as 9 weeks in some places.

From Nikkei Asia:

Consumers are still waiting up to nine weeks for delivery of new iPads as Apple struggles to clear a backlog that emerged last year amid the global chip and component crunch, according to Nikkei Asia's analysis of more than two months of shipping data.

Nikkei says that analysis of delivery times for all of Apple's best iPads in 25 key countries and regions including the U.S. and China reveals an average wait of around 50 days for a 64GB iPad.

By contrast, wait times for Apple's iPhone 13, the company's best iPhone released last year, have "shrunk dramatically2 from over a month in late 2021 to around 10 days.

As the report notes Apple's iPad branch was the only sector of its business that did not see growth during its record-breaking Q1, where the company recorded some $124 billion in profit.

As early as November it was reported that Apple had sharply cut back on iPad production in order to allocate more parts to its iPhone 13, slashing production by a reported 50%. Apple has enjoyed strong demand for the new iPhone since its release. According to rumors, the company is planning to release a new iPhone SE with 5G in the spring of 2022.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9