Apple Guards Chip Stash

In other words, the deal could just be a contingency plan in case of a delay, or it could simply allow Apple to buy chips to repair or replace those used in older models.

But the deal could indicate that Apple is worried that a delay is possible or even probable.

After more than 10 years on the PowerPC platform, Apple announced in June that it was switching to Intel chips. The company's rationale for the move was a more robust product-development pipeline for Intel chips. Apple CEO Steve Jobs also expressed frustration that IBM (IBM Quote), which co-produces the PowerPC line with Freescale, had been unable to deliver a low-power G5 processor that the company could use in its notebooks or a 3-gHz G5 processor that Apple had been promising customers.

Production delays by IBM had also contributed to shortages and order backlogs in the past for Apple. The move should help Apple avoid such supply constraints and could help the company's offerings become more price-competitive with those of its computer-making rivals.

But some analysts have worried that the transition could slow Apple's computer sales as customers await the delivery of Intel-based Macs. Apple officials said the transition had little effect on the company's computer sales in its most recent quarter, but the company is still assessing the situation.

The announcement came after the bell on Friday. In after-hours trading, shares of Apple were off 4 cents, or less than 1%, to $45.70. The company's stock closed regular trading off 32 cents, or about 0.7%, to $45.74.