Apple Tells Suppliers to Expect Strong MacBook Pro Shipments Going into 2017

Apple has told part and component manufacturers of its new MacBook Pro line-up to expect strong shipments to last until at least the end of 2016, according to sources in the upstream supply chain (via DigiTimes).

Apple is reportedly optimistic about fourth-quarter sales of its new notebooks and expects MacBook Pro shipments to maintain the same level going into 2017, said the sources, while related revenues and profits are all projected to enjoy growth next year.

The same sources noted that Apple was initially not very aggressive about placing new MacBook Pro orders and was also said to have delayed the product shipment schedule by a calendar quarter, due to low yield rates for some components including hinges, battery and keyboard.

Apple's stance changed after the October launch, however, and some market analysts now expect MacBook Pro shipments to reach 15 million units in 2016, with shipments staying at that level in 2017.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese ODM manufacturer Wistron has reportedly landed orders for the OLED Touch Bar strip used in Apple's higher tier notebooks, according to a report in the Economic Daily News (EDN), summarized by DigiTimes.

The Chinese language daily quoted market watchers who said that the keyboard is hard to build and its original Singapore-based supplier was having difficulties meeting Apple's demand, prompting Apple to transfer orders to Wistron.

The delayed launch of the new MacBook Pros was partly because of low yields of the keyboards, but shipments are starting to pick up as yield rates improve, said EDN.