No takers for M2 Macs: Apple halts production of its fastest chips due to lacklustre demand

According to a supply chain report, M2 chip manufacturing was completely stopped in January and February due to low demand for M2-powered Macs. This is thought to be the first time Apple has ever halted chip manufacturing for current-generation devices. Production restarted in March, but is roughly half of what it was during the same time last year. In January, Apple introduced the M2, M2 Pro, and M2 Max chips, which will be offered in new MacBook Pro and Mac mini versions. The new M2 Pro and M2 Max processors are featured in the upgraded 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro versions. Other upgrades include the first use of Wi-Fi 6E, an upgraded HDMI with 8K monitor compatibility, and more. **Also read: WWDC 2022: Apple unveils new MacBook Air with all new M2 Chip, check out the specifications & price in India** The M2 Pro chip found in the new MacBook Pro features an up to 12-core CPU and up to 19-core GPU. You can also expand the combined RAM up to 32GB. The M2 Max can go even further, including an up to 38-core GPU, double the unified memory bandwidth, and up to 96GB of unified memory. The M2 Pro chip packs in a 12-core CPU and 19-core GPU, with up to 32 GB RAM. The Elec reports a two-month manufacturing pause. While Apple chipmaker TSMC is naturally tight-lipped about output, the site was able to monitor it through other Apple vendors who conduct follow-up work on the processors before they are sent to Mac assembly firms. Apple verified that from January to February, production of the System-on-Chip (SoC) ‘M2 series’ on MacBooks was totally halted. Some output has resumed since March, but it is only half of what it was in prior years. **Also read: Apple Is Working On A Variety Of Macs With New M2 Chips, Likely To Unveil Them At WWDC 2022** According to the outsourced semiconductor package test (OSAT) business on the 3rd, Taiwan’s TSMC did not submit 5 nano-process M2 chip wafer workpieces to OSAT in January and February. It is thought that this was due to Apple’s request to halt manufacturing as demand for MacBooks declined. Amcona, which does chip packing, was especially hard hit, as it lost orders for two months and was unable to do anything else with the extra capacity. “The M2 line installed in the Amcona chip pack, the so-called ‘Apple line,’ makes other packaging work impossible,” an industry source explained. The newer Macs are experiencing significant issues. This is consistent with Apple’s first-quarter results, which saw Mac sales decline drastically from $10.85 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021 to $7.74 billion in the same quarter last year. Apple CEO Tim Cook remarked on the “difficult” circumstance at the moment. “We had a difficult compare because this time last year, we had the extremely successful launch of the redesigned M1 MacBook Pros,” said Tim Cook in a statement. “We also confronted a difficult macroeconomic climate and currency headwinds.” Also read: Apple employees concerned about their upcoming mixed-reality headset, afraid it will be a dud “The PC industry is very challenged, the industry is contracting,” he continued. “Strategically, I believe we are well-positioned in the industry, though I believe the near run will be difficult,” he added. Of course, the argument about M1 versus M2 is valid, but halting M2 chip production for two months suggests that demand was considerably lower than Apple had expected. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.