As Apple prepared to launch the iPhone 14 series, Apple thought it would need to increase production by a whopping 6 million units. However, demand did not rise to expected levels, so Cupertino has told its suppliers to scrap plans to build more units, according to insiders quoted by Bloomberg.
This means the production target goes back to where it was this summer – 90 million units. Note that this is for the entire iPhone 14 family, but it is now clear that the four models are not equal in terms of popularity.
The iPhone 14 Pro and especially the 14 Pro Max resonate with fans, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus (which has yet to go on sale) are less popular than last year’s vanilla models. According to insiders, at least one Apple supplier is rebalancing its production to focus more on the Pro duo.
Part of the problem is that China, a very important market for Apple, is in an economic downturn (local smartphone brands are also suffering). This has resulted in 11% lower purchases in the first three days of iPhone 14 availability compared to the iPhone 13 family a year ago.
Global demand is also falling amid rising inflation and economic uncertainty. However, some of the blame for the lower-than-expected demand also lies with the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus itself – the gap between them and their Pro counterparts is wider than in years past, the upgrade over their predecessors not quite as significant. .