Apple Struggling With Key Material Shortage as AI Chips Drain Supply

[MacRumors]

Apple is confronting a newly intensified supply-chain challenge for future chips as the AI boom has created a global shortage of a key material, Nikkei Asia reports.

Apple is said to be struggling to secure sufficient supplies of high-end glass cloth fiber, a material that plays a critical role in the printed circuit boards and chip substrates used in iPhones and other devices. The most advanced forms of this glass cloth are apparently produced almost entirely by one supplier, Nitto Boseki.

Apple began using Nittobo's premium glass cloth in chips years before AI computing drove widespread demand for similar materials. As AI workloads have expanded, however, companies such as Nvidia, Google, Amazon, AMD, and Qualcomm have moved aggressively into the same supply pool, placing unprecedented pressure on Nittobo's limited capacity.

In response, Apple has taken several unusual steps to protect its supply chain. The company reportedly sent staff to Japan last autumn and stationed them at Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, which produces substrate materials and relies on Nittobo's glass cloth. Apple is also believed to have approached Japanese government officials for assistance in securing supply.

Apple is additionally working to qualify alternative suppliers, though progress has been slow. Apple has engaged with smaller Chinese glass fiber producers, including Grace Fabric Technology, and asked Mitsubishi Gas Chemical to help oversee quality improvements. Other potential entrants from Taiwan and China are attempting to scale production, but industry sources said achieving consistent quality at the required level remains difficult.

Each glass fiber must be extremely thin, uniform, and free of defects, as the glass cloth is embedded deep inside the chip substrate and cannot be repaired or replaced after assembly. Because of this, major chipmakers have been reluctant to adopt lower-grade materials, even temporarily.

Apple has discussed using less-advanced glass cloth as a stopgap, but doing so would require extensive testing and validation and would not significantly ease supply constraints for 2026 products. Similar concerns are affecting other chipmakers.

Article Link: Apple Struggling With Key Material Shortage as AI Chips Drain Supply

 

[locovaca]

So in other words replacing Siri is costing Apple more than just what they’re paying google.

 

[dominiongamma]

So in other words replacing Siri is costing Apple more than just what they’re paying google.

Maybe Apple should have made Siri better from the start. Siri was under Steve Jobs

 

[MasterControlProgram]

Oh no, how will I polish my screen if there are Apple Polishing Cloth shortages!?

 

[strukt]

Its a sign, we should turn off our devices, log off Internet. Go out in the woods and sit by a fire. 😉

 

[mozumder]

incredible how so much of the supply chain is dominated by a company or two. It seems the point of capitalism is to eliminate competitors.

 

[Falco McGregor]

Struggle is an odd word to use when the text basically states “company recognizes problem and takes aggressive, proactive steps to mitigate shortage of key supplies.”

 

[orbital~debris]

Maybe  Polishing Cloth is more advanced than we realised!? 😯

 

[klasma]

Apple has discussed using less-advanced glass cloth as a stopgap, but doing so would require extensive testing and validation

So use liquid glass cloth? Have it be extensively tested and validated by the end users as usual. 😉

 

[bearda]

So in other words replacing Siri is costing Apple more than just what they’re paying google.

It doesn’t matter if they used AI or a tiny monkey that lived inside every iPhone or Siri, it’s a global shortage. If OpenAI/Anthropic/Google/whoever increases demand for a component of your device you’re going to feel it no matter what the device is being used for.

Anybody who uses high-end components is going to feel this one. Intel, Samsung, etc.

 

[cicalinarrot]

Maybe Apple should have made Siri better from the start. Siri was under Steve Jobs

You don't seem to remember how cool Siri was when it first came out compared to what most people had experienced before. For non-AI tech, it was great at first.
It only got outdated with time. It was last in class even before AI chatbots came out.

 

[Rockanrolero]

There has to be a balance reached at some point or the bubble will burst sooner than expected… what’s the use of having the infrastructure for running AI if you can’t build the hardware and devices to access it? 🤔

 

[tkermit]

the AI boom has created a global shortage of a key material, Nikkei Asia reports.

It's interesting how AI is already causing effects akin to a virus or cancer before we even get to thought experiments like the paperclip alignment problem. Apple's RAM prices are starting to look cheap now.

 

[Edsel]

Time to go back to pnp/npn transistors, resistors, coils, capacitors, and resin circuit boards! Love those cone-head hair styles too! /s

 

[Ctrlos]

There has to be a balance reached at some point or the bubble will burst sooner than expected… what’s the use of having the infrastructure for running AI if you can’t build the hardware and devices to access it? 🤔

Or indeed nobody is willing to pay to do so.

As an everyday Apple customer if Siri (which is ‘free’ with your iPhone) fulfils all your AI needs why would you bother subscribing to a competitors platform? The same applies to Android users. Google’s own servers use NPUs derived from their Tensor chips and I can only imagine Apple’s will need to do the same.

If you’re a Google user their $20/m AI sub also includes 2tb of cloud storage for the stuff you already have with them so its worth it for some people. No doubt Apple will offer some tiers of their own in future, maybe tied to the creative sub.

OpenAI are bankrolling a $500bn Euro Itchy and Scratchy Land that the general public aren’t going to recompense them for. At some point their debtors will come a knocking.

 

[t0rqx]

In other words expect the quality to go downhill even further with these shortages.

So Ceramic Shield 2 won't cut it as a replacement? Its inferior!?!

 

[Dr McKay]

Each time you make a new genmoji, Apple can't make one new iPhone or iPad.

 

[ifxf]

If AI is supposed to replace us, you would expect it could have predicted these supply shortages and tod Apple how to fix them.

 

[jonnyb]

Does Venezuela have any glass cloth Apple could steal?

 

[dmr727]

I wish this bubble would get on with it and pop already.

 

[Kidseeghost]

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[Kidseeghost]

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[ScanTheNavian]

One positive thing: Cook should be the ultimate man for this job at this time.
One negative thing: I think we're entering a time where we'll have to be accustomed to more malfunctions and lower quality. It'll take time to get these new manufacturers up to the right standard. And this concerns all companies of course.

Its a sign, we should turn off our devices, log off Internet. Go out in the woods and sit by a fire. 😉

Honestly I think you're right actually. The technological times ahead are very uncertain so the more one can untether themselves from technology, the more serene and calm they'll be. Plus cooking sausage over a fire in the woods is beyond cozy and delicious. Especially if you have Finnish mustard.

 

[iMac The Knife]

Ever since covid, these big companies have learned that if they throw a supply chain scare out there, they can raise prices and no one seems to bat an eye. If consumers only realized the power we wield collectively, we could change this behavior very quickly. However, the sheep will keep sheepin'. It gets worse every year.

 

[Kidseeghost]

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