MacBook Pros face two-month delays on account of factory riots and lockdowns in China

[Tudor Cibean]

TL;DR: According to Apple's website, all 14-inch and 16-inch Macbook Pro models ordered now are expected to ship in 7-9 weeks. Continued lockdowns in Chinese cities and supply shortages are some of the reasons for this, but now reports are surfacing of worker riots at the factories where these laptops are being assembled.

China has been hit hard by the latest wave of Covid-19. The country's strict anti-pandemic policies and the increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant have resulted in several Chinese cities getting locked down, in turn affecting supply chains.

Apple is the latest victim of these lockdowns as the production of their MacBook Pro 14 and 16 laptops can't keep up with demand. Quanta Computer, reportedly the sole manufacturer of said notebooks, has been suffering from production levels as low as five percent of capacity at its Shanghai factory in the past few months.

The situation does seem to be slightly better now, as Quanta's vice chairman CC Leung claimed that production lines were at 30 percent of their maximum output at the end of April and that the company is currently trying to scale it back up to 50 percent.

While component shortages and city-wide lockdowns are partly to blame for this, there are now also mentions of employee riots at the factory. The news seems hardly surprising, considering that some of these workers have to sleep and live on the premises as part of a "closed-loop" isolation system.

Taking a quick look at Apple's website, all 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are currently being quoted with a 7-9 week shipping time, whereas the 13-inch models are in stock.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/94533-macbook-pros-face-two-month-delays-account-factory.html

 

[psycros]

It really makes you wonder why a COVID variant that's no more dangerous than a seasonal flu has resulted in the Chinese police state become even more insufferable. I suspect there's a lot more to the story than we know.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

It really makes you wonder why a COVID variant that's no more dangerous than a seasonal flu has resulted in the Chinese police state become even more insufferable. I suspect there's a lot more to the story than we know.

Inflexible bureaucracy in an authoritarian one party state ruled by oligarchs who bragged too much about their zero covid success and thus can't back down now or they will lose face.

 

[p51d007]

It really makes you wonder why a COVID variant that's no more dangerous than a seasonal flu has resulted in the Chinese police state become even more insufferable. I suspect there's a lot more to the story than we know.

Yep, when was the last time you heard about "freedom protests" in places like Hong Kong and other areas. Using the Wuhan flu to lock down the people and "keep the peace" <wink wink>

 

[p51d007]

The Chinese Wuhan flu...the "gift" that keeps on giving.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

"Not even Apple is immune to the effects of Covid"

It is not so much the effects of covid as the effects of government that would rather punish citizens and hurt their economy than admit lockdowns don't work.

 

[VaRmeNsI]

Maybe Apple could use some of those new Chinese drones to hunt them down.

 

[bviktor]

It really makes you wonder why a COVID variant that's no more dangerous than a seasonal flu has resulted in the Chinese police state become even more insufferable. I suspect there's a lot more to the story than we know.

Well current studies show that easing up on the policies would result in a couple _million_ more deaths. Which is in line with the numbers elsewhere, the West just decided that 0.1% more death is fine because we need to "socialize" or carry on with our lives or travel or bond in the workplace or whatever. Oh and don't forget the ultimate argument, *most of the time* it's just a flu!

As if a flu was desirable or something. I just contracted COVID recently thanks to completely unreasonable management, and since then I have all kinds of worrying heart symptoms. My pulse is higher, my stamina is like 1/4th of what it used to be. Yes, I measure those, because I've been a long distance runner for like 2 decades now. BUT I NEED TO BOND IN THE F*CKING WORKPLACE, you know. It's totally worth having issues with my heart or any other organs later on.

In any case, even with "just" 0.1%, the absolute numbers are huge if the population is also huge. There's 1.4 billion people in China, most of them in extremely dense areas.

For reference, antivaxxers were whining about those side effects in like 0.0001% of patients. That's unacceptable, COVID side effects are fine! The hypocrisy and complete lack of reason is stunning.

 

[Crinkles]

It really makes you wonder why a COVID variant that's no more dangerous than a seasonal flu has resulted in the Chinese police state become even more insufferable. I suspect there's a lot more to the story than we know.

I suspect those with this level of knowledge and attitude will high-tail it to the emergency rooms as fast or faster than anyone when they catch a dose of 'no more dangerous seasonal' Covid flu. Such is the maga way.