It didn’t take long for Apple to release a statement about the restrictions that are affecting one of its factories in China. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the leading manufacturer in the Zhengzhou region is operating at a capacity far below its standard. In this way, the production of the Pro and Pro Max models of the iPhone 14 will be reduced, reducing shipments of these versions of the smartphone to the world.
the message was published by apple on Sunday (6). In it, the company informs about the situation that is plaguing the Asian country, especially the Zhengzhou region, but emphasizes its priority in relation to the health and safety of factory professionals:
We continue to see strong demand for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. However, we now expect lower shipments from these phones than we previously anticipated. Customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products. We are working closely with our supplier to return to normal production levels, ensuring the health and safety of every worker.
Apple Announcement
Therefore, the expectation of a manufacturing 30% lower than standard due to lockdown in regions of China is something consumers can look forward to.
Professionals try to escape the lockdown
The situation of the Chinese government’s restrictive measures worsened when a 7-day lockdown was ordered in the Zhengzhou region, home to one of the main iPhone factories, Foxconn. As a result, employees have to “live” within the company to continue their work.
It is worth noting that this company has about 200,000 professionals, many of them unhappy with the decisions to restrict the spread of the virus. In addition to reducing the number of people working at the site, there were cases where employees tried to flee the enclosure on weekends.
To try to circumvent the situation, the manufacturer redirected part of the manufacturing to a subsidiary in the Shenzhen region. However, Foxconn is already revising its forecasts for the fourth quarter of 2022. Finally, it announced that it is working with the country’s authorities to return to full strength as soon as possible.
Search for iPhone Pro and Max requires more efforts from Apple
Apple has already realized that the Covid-19 pandemic will not disappear so quickly from China. All the restriction measures defined by the Chinese authorities should continue to affect Apple in this fourth quarter.
This is even more complicated when faced with the strong public interest in the more expensive models of the iPhone 14. The American company sees a great demand for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max cell phones.
In addition, many analysts believe that the sales performance of these versions exceeded the company’s expectations. However, both the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus seem to be of lesser interest.
In other words, the decrease in the production of these smartphones drastically affects the apple’s accounts, requiring action from Apple. One of them could be to share a part of the manufacture of the gadgets with the Foxconn plant in India.
If that happens, iPhone manufacturing in the country could increase by close to 150% on a year-over-year basis. The medium-long objective would be to deliver between 40% and 45% of devices from India (currently less than 5%). A big change from what is currently done, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
With information: 9toMac and XDA Developers.
https://tecnoblog.net/noticias/2022/11/07/apple-avisa-que-lockdown-afetou-a-producao-de-alguns-modelos-do-iphone-14/