With tablets expected to be in short supply in the first quarter of 2021, it will be difficult to pick up a new Apple iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab at your local Best Buy.

The reason for the sharp drop in shipments is a shortage of components. Indeed, manufacturers see a chip shortage coming, and many have increased production to the end of 2020 to use as much available silicon as possible.

According to Digitimes, tablet shipments increased 17.6% in Q4 2020. While several companies were able to procure enough chips, others, like Huawei, experienced a sharp decline in tablet production and shipments. Lenovo, Amazon, and TCL all outpaced Huawei, and the Shenzhen-based company will struggle with tablet shipments through the first half of 2021.

A whopping 159.76 million tablets were shipped last year, up 2% from 2019. Much of this was due to pandemic demand as consumers stayed home and looked for ways to entertain themselves.

Currently, manufacturers have a 20-week lead time when trying to order new chips. This also means that companies are trying to make chips as quickly as possible. Therefore, there may not be a large production increase during the back-to-school or holiday season.

If you want a new tablet, it would be best to get one while supplies are ample. The situation will get tougher as the year progresses. The new iPad 2021 and iPad Pro 2021 are expected to be announced soon, but supply could be in short supply.

And it is not only the tablet market that is affected, but also shipments of new laptops, graphics cards, and consoles.

Our Where to Buy PS5 and Where to Buy Xbox Series X articles are constantly updated with the latest inventory reports, as well as where to buy Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, where to buy Nvidia RTX 3070, where to buy Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti The same applies.

Technology manufacturing is connected to many regions of the global supply chain, so when one region of the world is hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and forced to shut down, the domino effect will extend to manufacturing plants in China, Korea, and Taiwan. When things will return to normal will depend on how efficiently governments can supply vaccines.