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New iPad Pro shipments continue to slip as Apple faces display production issues

It will cause shipment delays for the company's new 12.9-inch tablets, 'Bloomberg' say.

Apple

You might not be able to get one of Apple's new 12.9-inch iPad Pros when it officially becomes available in a week's time. According to Bloomberg, the tech giant is dealing with supply chain issues that could leave buyers waiting weeks for their shipment. While the device's official release date is May 21st, customers are already getting June and July delivery dates for their pre-orders, and Bloomberg says the 12.9-inch tablet's new Liquid Retina XDR panel is to blame.

The display is a new technology that uses a mini-LED backlighting system. Each lighting component is much smaller than what you'd find in a typical LCD panel, enabling better contrast and significantly higher brightness. Apparently, Apple's manufacturing partners are having a hard time producing the more intricate screens in larger quantities at this point in time. A report by the publication back in April claimed the same thing, and it looks like Apple has yet to solve the problem. The new version of the 11-inch iPad Pro is equipped with a standard display, though, and won't be affected by the issue.

Shipment delays for the tech giant's priciest iPads yet would likely contribute to the revenue losses Apple is expecting this quarter. A previous Nikkei report said the company also delayed the production of some MacBook and iPad models due to the global chip shortage affecting the electronics and automotive industries. During its most recent earnings call, Apple execs revealed that they expect to miss out on as much as $4 billion in revenue in the current quarter due to a "very, very high" demand in the midst of semiconductor shortages.