Apple reportedly halted production of its M2 series of chips in the first months of 2023 due to a slump in demand for the company's Macs.
The M2 series powers the latest Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro machines with TSMC the company tasked with producing those chips. But it's said that Apple told the company to hold off producing more as demand dwindled.
Apple's M2, M2 Pro, and M2 Max chips were upgrades on the previous M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max although the improvements were far from great. Apple is expected to ship M3 chips later this year, with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggesting that buyers can expect a bigger jump in performance this time around.
"Demand for MacBooks dwindled"
The Elec reports that TSMC uses a third party during the manufacturing process but didn't do so in January or February. It's thought that was at the request of Apple — the company reportedly "requested to stop production as demand for MacBooks dwindled."
The report goes on to say that some production resumed in March, although not at the levels of previous years. Instead, it's said to be around half which suggests that Apple is still concerned about the number of Macs being sold.
The reasons for such low Mac demand could be many and varied, with the global economic downturn likely to be part of that equation. But those buying Apple's best Macs could also have chosen to wait for what's around the corner rather than buy M2 Macs that are already on sale. The 15-inch MacBook Air is thought to be ready for an imminent announcement, although it isn't yet clear whether that will use the M2 or M3 series chips.
The Mac Pro is another product that could be causing some to hold onto their money. The high-end machine is waiting for its Apple silicon refresh, with an updated model expected to debut later this year.
