Apple has prioritized the iPhone 13 over the new iPads, resulting in a significant shift in the tablet's production schedule.

If you've had trouble getting your hands on a new iPad lately, it's not just you: Apple has been scaling back production in favor of the iPhone 13. According to Nikkei Asia, global chip shortages have had a much bigger impact on production than expected. And because some components are shared between the iPad and iPhone, Apple has had to pick and choose where to focus its resources.

The decision to reallocate needed shared components (like M1 chips) to iPhone 13 production is likely due to perceived demand. Apple also typically ships far more iPhone units than iPads.

So the expectation is that the latest smartphone, which only came out in September, will sell more and it doesn't want to fall short. However, iPad sales have also increased, making the lack of availability more noticeable.