Apple CEO Tim Cook Warns Chip Shortage Could Affect Its iPad, Mac Supply

Apple CEO Tim Cook warned that the ongoing global chip shortage could squeeze its supply of M1-powered products, like the new iPad Pro and iMac 2021, later this year.

“The shortages primarily affect ‌iPad‌ and Mac,” Cook told analysts, according to the BBC. “We have a good handle on our demand – but what everybody else is doing, I don’t know.”

Earlier this month, it was reported that Apple delayed its production for the Macbook and iPad, pushing back a portion of its component order for the two products from the first half of the year to the second half.

Cook said the company would do its best to confront these shortages, but added that it would be “very, very difficult” to predict when they would end.

Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC, which makes chips for Apple, warned that the chip shortage might last into 2022, with an easing only happening in 2023. The company is spending an extraordinary US$100 billion (~RM413.8 billion) over the next three years to boost the chip-making capacity of its plants.

Foxconn, which also counts Apple as a client, sees the shortage running well into the second quarter of next year. So there’s at least some agreement on the time frame.

As we’ve noted before, a global chip shortage is currently strangling the supply of everything from cars and smartphones to graphic cards and gaming consoles. Largely caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the shortage has been notably worsened by rising trade and political tensions between the US and China.

Tim Cook Says Apple Acquires A Company Every Three To Four Weeks

Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed to shareholders on Tuesday that the tech giant buys a company every three to four weeks, the BBC said. Over the last six years, the iPhone maker has acquired about 100 smaller companies, a testament to the company’s deep pockets and immense power.

Cook explained to shareholders that the acquisitions were mostly geared towards obtaining technology and talent. In the past, Apple notably bought headphone company Beats Electronics – famously founded by rapper Dr.Dre – for US$3 billion (~RM12.1 billion) and music recognition software company Shazam for US$400 million (~RM1.6 billion).

A sign of its continuing interest in self-driving technologies, Apple bought Drive.ai, a self-driving shuttle company, in 2019. More recently, over the past year, Apple has acquired artificial intelligence (AI) companies, a virtual reality (VR) events business, a payments startup and a podcast business, the BBC said.

Still, despite its remarkable pace of acquisitions, Apple forks out considerably less money compared to its competitors. Microsoft bought LinkedIn for US$26 billion (~RM105 billion), Facebook bought WhatsApp for US$19 billion (~RM76.8 billion), and Amazon bought Whole Foods for US$13.7 billion (~RM55.3 billion).

The BBC noted that the company’s ten biggest acquisitions put together would still be worth much less than any of those deals. There could be a smart and deliberate rationale behind this – Gizmodo helpfully noted that Apple typically purchases smaller companies that fall way below the threshold where antitrust regulators would step in.

So while Apple is regularly accused of monopolising its iOS app ecosystem, its buying sprees attract far less attention.

Apple CEO Tim Cook Skewers Facebook Over Misinformation And Data Privacy

Two of the world’s biggest names in tech are openly clashing with each other. Apple CEO Tim Cook made veiled but obvious digs at Facebook in a streamed speech about data privacy yesterday. Facebook has publicly lambasted Apple over an upcoming privacy update on the latter’s iOS platform. Cook seems to have escalated the feud by highlighting the social media giant’s complicity in spreading misinformation.

“What are the consequences of prioritizing conspiracy theories and violent incitement simply because of their high rates of engagement? What are the consequences of not just tolerating, but rewarding content that undermines public trust in life-saving vaccinations? What are the consequences of seeing thousands of users join extremist groups, and then perpetuating an algorithm that recommends even more?” Cook said.

He declared, “It is long past time to stop pretending that this approach doesn’t come with a cost — of polarization, of lost trust and, yes, of violence. A social dilemma cannot be allowed to become a social catastrophe.”

As CNET noted, “social dilemma” is likely a reference to The Social Dilemma – a 2020 Netflix documentary that’s critical of social media companies including Facebook.

Cook knowingly stepped on an extremely touchy topic for Facebook – whether the platform is being used to spread extremism and fake news (as its many critics argue). It’s an especially salient question after the deadly US Capitol riots on 6 January – the direct result of conspiracy theories (some pushed by a former US president) alleging that the 2020 US presidential election was rigged.

Facebook arguably may have invited this sort of pushback when it stridently campaigned against Apple’s new privacy changes. The social media firm even bought full-page newspaper ads against Apple, claiming that Apple was giving the shaft to “small businesses.” Clearly, Cook and his team took it to heart.

At the core of the issue is Apple’s new rule requiring that all apps on iOS explicitly obtain a user’s permission before tracking their data. Facebook said the rule would seriously interfere with the way it does advertising. But Apple isn’t budging.

“Technology does not need vast troves of personal data, stitched together across dozens of websites and apps, in order to succeed. Advertising existed and thrived for decades without it. And we’re here today because the path of least resistance is rarely the path of wisdom.

If a business is built on misleading users, on data exploitation, on choices that are no choices at all, then it does not deserve our praise. It deserves reform.” Cook said.

All we can say is, ouch.