Apple Struggles to Keep Up with iPhone 14 Pro Series Demand
Apple’s end-of-year sales may be greatly affected due to low supply of its iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models. The production of these models has been seriously affected by troubles at Foxconn, Apple’s main factory in China.
Foxconn, a brand partner of Apple, is in charge of producing the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. According to Reuters, Foxconn expects its main iPhone factory to resume full production around the end of December or early January.
iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max Production Affected
Foxconn assembles about 70% of the iPhones Apple sells, but its production may have fallen by 30% due to supply disruptions. Currently, Foxconn’s iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models are severely affected.
Apple is struggling to maintain supply, with iPhone 14 Pro models currently facing at least four-week delays in shipments from Apple’s online store in the US. Online stores in China are also facing a 4 to 5 week delivery delay.
Foxconn Factory Struggles with Pandemic
Analyst reports show that in the 13th week after the release of the iPhone 14 series, the global delivery time of the iPhone 14 Pro series has been shortened from 35 days in the previous week to 29 days. However, the shipment time of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus remains at 3 days.
These models are not as popular as the Pro models. The shortened global delivery time of the iPhone 14 Pro series means that delivery times in major markets around the world have improved significantly.
iPhone 14 Pro Series Production Capacity Improving
The pandemic is still affecting Apple, and the production of the iPhone 14 Pro series has yet to return to normal levels. As a result, deliveries of the new Pro iPhones are delayed. The delivery time of the iPhone 14 Pro series is also longer than in previous generations.
Analysts are now looking at week-by-week capacity of iPhone production. Relative to the previous week, analysts say that the iPhone 14 Pro series production capacity is better.
In the US market, the delivery time of the Pro series has been shortened to 25 days, an improvement from the previous week’s 33 days. In the Chinese market, the delivery time for the previous week was 43 days, but this week it has been reduced to 39 days.
In the German market, the delivery time for the new Pro iPhones last week was 32 days, but this week it has been shortened to 25 days. The situation is the same in the UK market, where the initial delivery time last week was 33 days, but this week the delivery time for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max is 27 days.
In the above four major markets, the delivery time of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus is shorter. The sales of the lower iPhone 14 series models are also more stable than that of the Pro series. The US market is stable at 4 days, and the Chinese market reduces from 2 days to 1 day.
The UK market reduces from 4 days to 3 days. The analyst said in the report that compared with the iPhone 13 series in the same period, the delivery time of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus is basically the same. However, the delivery time of the latest iPhone Pro series is longer.
iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max Supply to Reduce by 6 Million Units This Year
The current delivery time is still longer than before the Foxconn factory had pandemic issues, and the new iPhone production has yet to reach its regular normal levels. Back in November, there were reports that the Pro series production would decrease by 6 million units this year. This number may increase if the pandemic continues to affect production.