Insufficient supply of iPhone 14 Pro continues until the end of the year
As Apple has been disrupted by China’s COVID-19 blockade, the shortage of iPhone supply is expected to continue until the end of the year.
According to a JP Morgan investment report obtained by Apple Insider on the 14th (local time), JP Morgan said, “We cannot determine how much impact the closure of the Chinese factory will have,” but predicted, “The supply of iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models will continue until the end of the year.”
As the number of COVID-19 patients in Zhengzhou increased rapidly, Chinese authorities ordered the closure of the industrial complex where the Chinese factory of Foxconn, Apple’s largest partner, is located, from the 2nd.
As COVID-19 spread, the factory operated a “closed loop” that blocks contact with the outside since the middle of last month. Employees infected with COVID-19 also had to stay in quarantine facilities in the factory. A large number of employees who could not endure this escaped. Chinese social media Weibo posted a video showing workers crossing barbed wire in the middle of the night walking along the highway and running away across the wheat field while dragging their luggage.
Foxconn is Apple’s largest iPhone producer, and its Zhengzhou plant produces 80% of the iPhone 14 series and more than 85% of the iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone 14 series is a new product released by Apple in September and is considered the main product that will drive Apple’s performance for at least one year. In particular, Apple’s sales are expected to be damaged as production is disrupted less than two months after its launch at a time when it has to start promoting ahead of the end of the year.
