Tim Cook tells investors that the manufacturing of the Late 2012 models is troublesome

Jan 24, 2013 10:09 GMT  ·  By

Apple this week disclosed its initial quarterly earnings for 2013 posting record revenue and net profit, as well as tens of millions of gadgets from iPhones and iPads, to Macs and iPods.

In the computer department (everything else Apple sells is a computer, after all), the company posted sales of 4.1 million Macs. That number compares to 5.2 million in the year-ago quarter to spell a 16% decline in sales year-over-year.

With the company’s Macintosh lineup looking better than ever, it begs the question: why?

Tim Cook tells investors that it all boils down to the new generation of iMacs, which incur thorough lamination and friction-stir welding processes during manufacturing.

The new technologies (and the technologies used to put the computers together) resulted in poor yield rates, causing the company to delay shipping. Supplies continue to be constrained to this day. Apple is citing 2-3 weeks shipping time for the 21.5” model, and 3-4 weeks for the 27-inch version.