The great computer-chip shortage of 2021, a cloud hanging over companies ranging from Tesla Inc. to McDonald’s Corp., is showing signs of easing. But not for everyone.
While chipmakers such as Qualcomm Inc. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. struck an optimistic tone this week, certain products will remain scarce for some time to come. That’s left companies like Apple Inc. in a bind: Even with some supplies of semiconductors getting closer to normal, they still lack the components needed to complete their complex tech devices.
On Tuesday, Apple said that shortages will contribute to a lower rate of growth this quarter and get worse. And there’s an ironic wrinkle: The iPhone maker expects to get enough of the more advanced chips that the company needs. It’s the simpler ones — made with so-called legacy-node manufacturing — that will be tougher to come by.