iPhone 14 Pro Wait Time Hit New Peak After Factory Disruptions
Apple Inc.'s iPhone 14 Pro models are taking longer to deliver than ever as the company's key assembly plant in China's Zhengzhou weathers Covid lockdowns and worker unrest.
Customers buying Apple's most premium devices in the US this year can now expect to wait as long as 37 days, according to Counterpoint Research, which monitors delivery times every year. That's far higher than the predecessor iPhone 13 Pro family and longer than the initial launch of the current generation. Delivery days are “increasing significantly” for iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models across all markets, Counterpoint analysts said.
The Zhengzhou facility, operated by Foxconn Technology Group, accounts for most of the world's iPhone Pro supply and houses as many as 200,000 workers during the peak holiday season. It's been through a series of disruptions after a Covid outbreak in October, including an abrupt government-imposed lockdown and violent worker protests against restrictions and living conditions.
“The zero China Covid policy has been an absolute gut punch to Apple's supply chain with the Foxconn protests in Zhengzhou a black eye for both Apple and Foxconn,” said Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities. “We estimate that Apple now has significant iPhone shortages that could take off roughly at least 5% of units in the quarter and potentially up to 10% depending on the next few weeks in China.”
Apple is now expected to face a shortfall of 6 million iPhone Pro units this year as a result of those disruptions, Bloomberg News has reported, and the company has said it anticipates longer delivery times this year. Apple and Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., anticipate making up for orders lost this quarter by catching up on production in
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