What you need to know
- Shortages of iPad Pro models have been noted.
- Apple may be running stocks down ahead of a refresh.
- Or it could be feeling the impact of coronavirus.
Apple Store employees have noticed that stocks of iPad Pro models started to run dry around a week ago, with limited availability noted throughout the United States, Australia, and Europe.
Apple has already been rumored to have new iPad Pro models waiting to be announced this year, but as noted by Bloomberg, it isn't clear whether the stock shortages are a result of Apple's plans to run stocks down or if coronavirus has had a part to play.
Some Apple store employees said they started noticing reduced iPad Pro inventory in the last week. They asked not to be identified discussing private product information. Apple has been planning to debut a new iPad Pro with upgraded cameras as early as the first half of this year, so the supply shortages could also be due to incoming models. If that's the cause of the limited availability, the presence of the virus may still disrupt Apple's plans.
iPad Pro isn't the only Apple product line to be experiencing shortages, either. AirPods Pro have been in a similar situation as well, although that's been the case since they were announced last year. Multiple Apple Watch models are also showing mid-March delivery dates, too, whereas they would normally be available almost immediately. Interestingly, Bloomberg also notes that some locations in Europe and Australia currently list iPhone 11 models as unavailable.
The impact of coronavirus hasn't been clear, but with Foxconn having had to close plants amid the outbreak, it stands to reason that Apple's production lines would be impacted. Foxconn expects to be able to get back to normal by the end of this month.
Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.
Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.
