Constraints on iMac Shipments Soon to End, Claim Parts Suppliers

[MacRumors]

Recent production problems with the 2012 iMac have largely been solved, suggesting that supply constraints may ease, according to a report from China Times, summarized by BrightWire.

- [T]he company's Taiwanese component suppliers noted that the assembling conformity rate for the new iMac has been improved and mass production started in December 2012. Sales of the device may be boosted in 1Q 2013.

- As new products will usually see orders peak within the first four months after they are launched, the shipments of the new iMac are expected to remain stable through 1Q 2013.

Apple CEO Tim Cook noted in last week's analyst call that iMac shipments would remain constrained through Q1, with the company giving this as a large part of the reason for selling 1.1 million fewer Macs in Q4 2012 compared to Q4 2011.

Currently 27-inch iMacs are showing delivery times of 3-4 weeks, with 21.5-inch models showing 2-3 weeks.

Article Link: Constraints on iMac Shipments Soon to End, Claim Parts Suppliers

[Nobita]

And then hopefully we will see the new thin thunderbolt display this year

[apple_iBoy]

Originally Posted by Nobita

And then hopefully we will see the new thin thunderbolt display this year

I'm waiting, credit card in hand. And hopefully a new Mac Pro to go along with it!

[Mike Valmike]

Originally Posted by Nobita

And then hopefully we will see the new thin thunderbolt display this year

^^^This.

I went from not caring about the ATD ever, to wanting the new one, after realizing that the configuration constraints on the new iMac are too serious and significant to allow me to have the build I want. And that the solution probably lies in the ATD.

CSB for those who are interested in this sort of thing

So I use my Mac for three things, for which it must be block-of-iron reliable and perform:
1. Media server for the entire home, out of iTunes library w/ATV3s;
2. Editing and archiving family photos, audio, and video (I'm that guy); and
3. Using, without impact, the physical terminal as the central productivity point for the home... i.e. Office, financial, web, writing, etc.

My wife and kids use iDevices the 98% of the time they don't need a "truck," to use the Steve Jobs term.

So, four years ago, I bought a maxed-out iMac and for a long time it performed as needed in these tasks. However in the interim it wore down, video went from DVD-quality to 1080p, archiving needs went up, and the playback device changed from Xbox 360 to ATV3. It was time for a new iMac, and it was the end of 2011 so I figured what the heck, only a matter of months now and I can just get the new model. The SSD prices were untenable in the 2011 model, so it was just as well.

Around June, WWDC came and went with no new iMac. My current iMac gave up, even maxed out it couldn't keep up anymore and I retired it to light duty as a cash register at my business. I figured it was any day now that the new iMacs would surely land, so I bought at a sweet discount the 2012 cMBP in a base config and maxed out the RAM, and a TB drive array for the video archives. The idea being I could just flip the cMBP after settling into the new permanent 2012 iMac. Minimal loss, all good.

Well, we all know it took until, well it's still not widely available, the 2012 iMac. And what's worse, the CTO for it is terrible: $1300 for an SSD??!?! And the fusion option, while interesting, requires aftermarket work for me: 128GB worth of SSD isn't enough, even with a 3TB HDD. So whether I wanted to get a blade SSD and then maybe max out the HDD, or just get a 1TB HDD config and replace it outright with a much-cheaper-than-$1300-SSD-480GB-or-so, either way I need to have an AAR do it because I don't plan to screw up my non-user-serviceable machine by breaking it open. Heck, the 2012 Mac Mini I use as a POS server at my business was better suited to the task than the new iMac, and a damned sight cheaper too, even max configged. Why not just get one of those? But the answer was even better than that.

The MBP has performed well, but the display is just too damned small and it sorely needs an SSD. I have SSDs at work and at my business and once you've gone flash, you never go back. I don't game on my computers (my business is a vintage arcade and game store, filling that need) so the GT680MX GPU means nothing to me. Intel graphics 4k are plenty for HD video editing. Processor speed kinda does matter but I'll live with it for now. What was I to do for the permanent solution? I wanted to get another four or five years out of ONE Mac, especially considering that by 2018, none of us might need a computer anymore, it might all be cloud and mobile and so on.

Enter the Mac Pro. Or whatever it's going to be -- Tim Cook's promise didn't actually nail that down. (He said it would be "something great for our pro users later in 2013"). Even if it was just the existing Mac Pro updated to new CPUs, Thunderbolt, and USB3, it would fit the bill. I could mix and match SSDs and HDDs all I wanted, it was up to the task of 24/7/365 server duty, and all expansion and modification options would be on the table.

But that's "later in 2013."

Which could mean spring of 2014 the way Apple is being run these days.

What to do?

I realized finally that the ATD was the link in the chain that would tide me over. If the new ATD came out and I used it to solve my too-small-display problem, I could then slap an OWC SSD into my cMBP myself, continue to run my TB video repository drive array, and just turn off the power-saving on the cMBP and stick it on a stand as though it were a 2012 Mac Mini. Which, in essence, is precisely what it is. They share the same architecture to a considerable degree. THEN, when the Mac Pro or whatever comes out, that's the only part I have to replace. The rest stays as it is, the ATD is already there, I can probably yank the HDDs out of the LaCie enclosure and just slap them inside the Pro, and then resell the enclosure and the cMBP, losing a couple hundred bucks maybe on depreciation. Meanwhile, uninterrupted service by the unit.

I've already ordered the SSD. But to get going on this "for reals," I need the new ATD to be released. Hopefully now, with this news, it won't be long.

[Freida]

Finally. Now lets get the ACD upgrade too

[zoffdino]

It was clear that the new iMac wasn't ready in November. Launching a major product line with only a few hundred thousand units in stock during the holiday quarter? That caused a 700,000 iMacs backlog which Apple has to fill.

Looking back, it would have been better if Apple simply specs-bump their iMacs to Ivy Bridge some time in the summer, which was dead-easy to do. Then announce the new design when Haswell is ready. They have ample time to iron out the production issues and still have computers to sell.

What is Tim Cook thinking lately? The Maps fiasco (which you can reasonably blame Scott Forstall when he told Cook "it's ready"), and now the iMac conundrum.

[TallGuyGT]

Originally Posted by zoffdino

It was clear that the new iMac wasn't ready in November. Launching a major product line with only a few hundred thousand units in stock during the holiday quarter? That caused a 700,000 iMacs backlog which Apple has to fill.

Looking back, it would have been better if Apple simply specs-bump their iMacs to Ivy Bridge some time in the summer, which was dead-easy to do. Then announce the new design when Haswell is ready. They have ample time to iron out the production issues and still have computers to sell.

What is Tim Cook thinking lately? The Maps fiasco (which you can reasonably blame Scott Forstall when he told Cook "it's ready"), and now the iMac conundrum.

I completely agree with this. I think it's way too early to judge Tim Cook overall, but this was a major and avoidable screw up. The previous body could have been upgraded to Ivy Bridge and new GPU last summer, so they would have had ample stock for back-to-school and the holidays. As it was, they were selling old tech for back-to-school and next to nothing for the holidays. I expect more from a supply chain guru. And now how long will the upgrade cycle be for Haswell, which drops this summer?

[x86isslow]

Originally Posted by TallGuyGT

I completely agree with this. I think it's way too early to judge Tim Cook overall, but this was a major and avoidable screw up. The previous body could have been upgraded to Ivy Bridge and new GPU last summer, so they would have had ample stock for back-to-school and the holidays. As it was, they were selling old tech for back-to-school and next to nothing for the holidays. I expect more from a supply chain guru. And now how long will the upgrade cycle be for Haswell, which drops this summer?

Was Cook in charge of logistics when Steve had to back off of the 450 mhz G4 and ship the 400 mhz instead? And when Steve had to stand on stage and apologize for not hitting 3Ghz with the G5? Seems this is just history repeating itself.

[mr.steevo]

Originally Posted by x86isslow

Was Cook in charge of logistics when Steve had to back off of the 450 mhz G4 and ship the 400 mhz instead? And when Steve had to stand on stage and apologize for not hitting 3Ghz with the G5? Seems this is just history repeating itself.

Yup.

Or when the Cube came out of the box with hair line cracks? Or how about when the G5 iMac capacitors exploded? This kind of stuff happens all the time but the difference then was that no one was paying attention to Apple. Now Apple sneezes and it's stock drops 15%.

[everything-i]

Originally Posted by TallGuyGT

I completely agree with this. I think it's way too early to judge Tim Cook overall, but this was a major and avoidable screw up. The previous body could have been upgraded to Ivy Bridge and new GPU last summer, so they would have had ample stock for back-to-school and the holidays. As it was, they were selling old tech for back-to-school and next to nothing for the holidays. I expect more from a supply chain guru. And now how long will the upgrade cycle be for Haswell, which drops this summer?

While it is easy in hindsight to pick apart the decisions made here it would have been more difficult judging when to release the new design before hand. The main reason for supply problems with this new design was an issue ramping up production. This would have been difficult to predict when the decision to release was made as much of the production engineering would still be being done. These things have to be decided way before anything is production ready and it is normally not a good idea to sit on designs for too long because they get leaked and the competition have more time to catch up. Apple designs normally push production engineering technology to the limits which is why it usually takes a year or so for the competition to come out with similar designs, this is another reason why they bring product to market sooner rather than playing it safe.

[xofruitcake]

Originally Posted by TallGuyGT

I completely agree with this. I think it's way too early to judge Tim Cook overall, but this was a major and avoidable screw up. The previous body could have been upgraded to Ivy Bridge and new GPU last summer, so they would have had ample stock for back-to-school and the holidays. As it was, they were selling old tech for back-to-school and next to nothing for the holidays. I expect more from a supply chain guru. And now how long will the upgrade cycle be for Haswell, which drops this summer?

heh heh, you guys probably has never get involve of building any real electronic products and just want to play Monday morning quarterback. Building a complicated product like IMac is not like you just go to home depot and pick up a nut here, a bolt there and put them together. One of the thing that Apple has been trying to do is to get latest technology (in cell touch for Iphone 5, GF2 LCD for Ipad mini) into their product line. Apple need to put in a firm order 6-9 months before the product shipped. The component has to arrive at Foxconn (or other contract assembly site) 2 to 3 months before product shipped. Guess what, 6 to 9 months before product launch, component makers just start to ramp up their own production. And with a newly designed component, suppliers can easily run into manufacturing problem and you get low production for the first few months. Alternative is Apple only use component that is already fully ramp up 6-9 months before product launch. And the arm chair quarter back will complaint that Apple does not use cutting edge technology in their product.

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Originally Posted by zoffdino

It was clear that the new iMac wasn't ready in November. Launching a major product line with only a few hundred thousand units in stock during the holiday quarter? That caused a 700,000 iMacs backlog which Apple has to fill.

Looking back, it would have been better if Apple simply specs-bump their iMacs to Ivy Bridge some time in the summer, which was dead-easy to do. Then announce the new design when Haswell is ready. They have ample time to iron out the production issues and still have computers to sell.

Yeah, looking back that definitely looks like the wiser move. My only thought, no reason for apple to wait for haswell (summer). If they updated iMacs last summer they could easily announce/release new iMacs around the now/February timeframe. New design, SSD, and fusion drive would be enough reason to update.

[needfx]

there are people in agony close to you

support your local mac relief NGO

[ConCat]

Originally Posted by needfx

there are people close to you that are in agony

support your local mac relief NGO

Bless you sir.

[petsk]

It's now the seventh week I'm waiting for my iMac and it will take another few weeks before I get it according to my premium reseller. Nice work crapple!

[iChrist]

Originally Posted by petsk

It's now the seventh week I'm waiting for my iMac and it will take another few weeks before I get it according to my premium reseller. Nice work crapple!

Yes. Hopefully when you finally get it there is no issue with screen, burn in, yellow, or other LG problems.

[JXChain]

Originally Posted by zoffdino

It was clear that the new iMac wasn't ready in November. Launching a major product line with only a few hundred thousand units in stock during the holiday quarter? That caused a 700,000 iMacs backlog which Apple has to fill.

Looking back, it would have been better if Apple simply specs-bump their iMacs to Ivy Bridge some time in the summer, which was dead-easy to do. Then announce the new design when Haswell is ready. They have ample time to iron out the production issues and still have computers to sell.

What is Tim Cook thinking lately? The Maps fiasco (which you can reasonably blame Scott Forstall when he told Cook "it's ready"), and now the iMac conundrum.

you forgot about the retail exec hiring.

[The Phazer]

Originally Posted by zoffdino

What is Tim Cook thinking lately? The Maps fiasco (which you can reasonably blame Scott Forstall when he told Cook "it's ready"), and now the iMac conundrum.

While you might think that, it's very hard to believe that Cook doesn't get a beta of iOS to look himself.

It'd be even more worrying if he was surrounded by yes men so much that nobody else pointed out how bad it was.

[bretm]

Originally Posted by zoffdino

It was clear that the new iMac wasn't ready in November. Launching a major product line with only a few hundred thousand units in stock during the holiday quarter? That caused a 700,000 iMacs backlog which Apple has to fill.

Looking back, it would have been better if Apple simply specs-bump their iMacs to Ivy Bridge some time in the summer, which was dead-easy to do. Then announce the new design when Haswell is ready. They have ample time to iron out the production issues and still have computers to sell.

What is Tim Cook thinking lately? The Maps fiasco (which you can reasonably blame Scott Forstall when he told Cook "it's ready"), and now the iMac conundrum.

The older design with upgraded components, DVD, and FW800 would have been a better machine too.

[arbitter]

Originally Posted by zoffdino

What is Tim Cook thinking lately? The Maps fiasco (which you can reasonably blame Scott Forstall when he told Cook "it's ready"), and now the iMac conundrum.

I agree with the iMac issues, but I must disagree with the maps. For me it's really been blown out of proportion. They wanted to give more functionality, and if Google did it, Google wanted more branding, which Apple did not desire. I've never encountered any trouble using Apple Maps.

And if you did have problems with Apple Maps, it's still a good thing it got launched, since now Google has made it's own Maps 'without restrictions' they had when it was a native app. It's truly a win for the consumers.

[TouchMint.com]

This is good to hear. I gotta say my 50+ day wait was pretty painful but worth it. The 27inch is super nice!

[1Alec1]

Originally Posted by zoffdino

It was clear that the new iMac wasn't ready in November. Launching a major product line with only a few hundred thousand units in stock during the holiday quarter? That caused a 700,000 iMacs backlog which Apple has to fill.

I don't know how well 2011 iMacs would have sold in December 2012. He should have done some minor update to them (just newer parts) instead of redesigning the iMac in such a rushed manner.

----------

Originally Posted by technopimp

Plus, everyone who had then bought an Ivy Bridge iMac in August would now be fuming "OMG I JUST BOUGHT THIS AND NOW IT'S CRAP BECAUSE THE THIN IS OUT" just like with the iPad 4.

No, the older design is better. It has an SD card slot on the right instead of on the back, it has FireWire, you can upgrade the RAM yourself and save lots of money, and it has a DVD drive (not that useful but whatever). Also, it doesn't have as big of an awkward bulge on the back.

----------

Originally Posted by nazaar

arrggg... I'm disgruntled that 2 year old iMac DVD drive doesn't work anymore (IT'S LESS THAN 2 YEARS OLD!!!!!).
Why should I give you more $ Apple, where's the quality!?!?!

Don't expect good DVD drives from Apple. It's their weakness. Any Apple computer you get will have DVD drive problems. All those slot-loading machines spit the discs out randomly. Even my tray-loading Mac Pro has issues ejecting sometimes because of the metal door in front of the drive.

----------

Originally Posted by Nobita

And then hopefully we will see the new thin thunderbolt display this year

I don't like the thin iMac, but the thin TB display would be amazing!

[troop231]

Originally Posted by Freida

Finally. Now lets get the ACD upgrade too

Looking forward to ATD instead

[MacDarcy]

Sheesh. By the time these iMac constraints disappear, Apple will be updating the line! ;-)

[CaptMike]

Originally Posted by MacDarcy

Sheesh. By the time these iMac constraints disappear, Apple will be updating the line! ;-)

Exactly!!!!

There will be a new version out by the time I receive my current order.