Apple warns of an iPhone shortage this Christmas
If you had your eye on the new iPhone 14 for Christmas you better hurry as stocks might run out.
On Sunday, Apple said it expects lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone Pro Max shipments than previously anticipated as Covid-19 restrictions temporarily disrupt production at an assembly facility in Zhengzhou, China.
‘The facility is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity,’ the iPhone maker said in a statement.
‘Customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products,’ it added.
Apple, which began selling its iPhone 14 range in September, said customers should expect longer waiting times.
‘We continue to see strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. However, we now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated,’ said Apple.
The factory in question is Taiwan’s Foxconn, Apple’s biggest iPhone maker.
On Monday, the company said it was working to resume full production at its plant in Zhengzhou which had been hit by Covid-19 curbs.
The impact on production comes amid a traditionally busy time for consumer electronic giants like Apple ahead of the year-end holiday season.
The shortage is dampening the company’s sales outlook for the busy year-end holiday season.
Reuters last month reported that iPhone output could slump as much as 30% in November at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou factory due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The factory in central China, which employs about 200,000 people, has been rocked by discontent over stringent measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Last week, videos of workers fleeing the strict lockdown at the Zhengzhou factory surfaced online.
On Monday, China reported its highest number of new Covid-19 infections in six months, with disruption to the world’s second-largest economy spreading nationwide since October.
China has repeatedly vowed to stick to its zero-tolerance response to Covid-19 and implement what the authorities say are necessary measures to contain the virus.
Meanwhile, Apple expects to produce at least 3 million fewer iPhone 14 handsets this year than planned due to weak demand for lower-end models, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the plan.
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