iMacs Delayed Because the Screens Are Too Thin

What was originally a 7 to 10 business day shipping time for Apple's 21.5 inch iMac is now sitting at 2 to 3 weeks, according to 9to5Mac. But that's what happens when your screens require a manufacturing process as complicated as a jetliner's.  

Over the past few months, Apple has been experiencing various shipping delays and factory shortages throughout its line of high end electronics. In November and December, we saw shortages of the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini, which were both subsequently resolved.

Then, while those two products' shipping times improved, it looked like the new 27 inch iMac would be taking a hit instead. Well, the shortage has reached the lower end iMacs now, as the 21.5 inch iMacs will be joining their larger brothers in shipping limbo.

The shipping delays appear to be stemming from production problems for the new ultra slim iMac computers. As early as October, Apple CEO Tim Cook predicted significant shortages through the end of the last quarter of 2012, due to the redesigned desktop being harder to make, according to InvestorVillage.

The screens of these new iMacs require a complicated and intensive process of laminating the display directly to the display's glass, removing all air gaps, and welding a system of aluminum under a highly pressurized system. This is apparently how the Airbus A380's wings are manufactured.

"This is so thin we wanted to do something even more with it," explained Phil Schiller, Apple's senior VP of marketing, at Apple's Oct. 23 media event. "The way this is welded is called friction stir welding."

Sounds impressive. Remember that while you wait a month for your computer.

So how thin are the new iMacs? The 21.5 inch iMac is 6.9 inches deep and the 27 inch model is 8 inches. But that's at their thickest. At their edges, the iMacs come down to a razor sharp 5 millimeters.