Apple on Sunday (November 6, 2022) released its latest update on the production of iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max smartphones.
Apple in a news statement said COVID-19 restrictions have impacted the assembly facility located in Zhengzhou, China and the production of its latest smartphones including iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Apple said the manufacturing facility is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity. Apple did not reveal the impact on sales during the December quarter. Apple launched sales of the new iPhones in September.

Apple, the #2 smartphone supplier in the world with 17.2 percent share, said it sees strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. “We now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated and customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products,” Apple said.

Research firm TrendForce said last week it cut its iPhone shipments forecast for the December quarter by 2-3 million units, from 80 million previously, due to the troubles at the Zhengzhou plant. Its investigation of the situation found that the factory’s capacity utilisation rates were now around 70 percent.

Apple earlier said it generated revenue of $42.62 billion by selling iPhones during the July-September quarter of 2022. Apple does not reveal the number of iPhones sold. IDC report indicated that Apple shipped 51.9 million units of iPhones during the July-September quarter of 2022.

Taiwan’s Foxconn, the operator of the Zhengzhou factory, said on Monday it was working to resume full production at the plant as soon as possible, and revised down its fourth quarter outlook.

Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, is Apple’s biggest iPhone maker, accounting for 70 percent of iPhone shipments globally. Foxconn has smaller production sites in India and southern China.

TrendForce said Foxconn’s production of the Pro and Pro Max models will continue to exclusively take pace at the Zhengzhou base in the short term. Apple is planning to spread the production-related risks for the iPhone Pro series by diverting orders to Luxshare and Pegatron.

Luxshare is expected to first benefit from the subsequent order transfer, and shipments of the iPhones made at its production lines may start as early as 1Q23, TrendForce said.