Slowly but surely the coronavirus COVID-19 is taking its toll in the tech world. And not so much for biological reasons, but for practical reasons: shortages of parts.
More and more large (and small) tech-companies are getting into trouble because of COVID-19. And not so much because of the virus itself, but mainly because of the draconian measures taken to combat it. Now that combating the virus is not going as smoothly as expected (if it is going to work at all), we see that many manufacturers get into trouble.
The most recent ‘victim’ seems to be Apple. Normally every spring there is a big ‘unveiling feast’ for new products. This year this will most probably not happen, because the environment in which Apple’s head office is located is affected by infections and associated restrictive rules regarding mass meetings. There’s probably not much to reveal – we read here – anyway, as rumors say that the manufacturer is unable to release new products due to manufacturing backlogs are getting stronger every day.
PCs
Furthermore, HP seems to have difficulties to deliver certain wanted systems. Check this post on Askwoody (where more information can be found on this subject). It probably has to do with COVID-19 related production delays at processor supplier Intel. All the more annoying because many companies are in the middle of the process of replacing their Windows 7 systems with Windows 10 computers. They have little choice – besides buying a temporary support extension of 7 – because Microsoft declared Windows 7 EOL early this year.
Audio
Now, of course, audio products increasingly include virtually complete computers. It remains to be seen how COVID-19 will further influence the (high-end) audio industry.
Advantage is that they are mostly specialized companies that produce high-end audio. Or that they do not directly need mainstream components in large numbers? On the other hand, you will see that smaller manufacturers do not have large stocks of CPUs or system boards (to name but a few) on their shelves. And if those components are needed in a specific product, a problem arises. In short: longer waiting times for electronic products will become unavoidable in any industry if COVID-19 continues to rule for longer. These are interesting times…