Apple Stops Iphone 14 Plus Production Reports

According to The Information, the tech giant informed at least one of its manufacturers in China to “immediately halt production” of the smartphone’s components while it assesses the demand for the iPhone 14 Plus. Meanwhile, the two downstream Apple suppliers in China that assemble the parts into larger modules are also supposedly scaling back production by 70% and 90%. Demand for the iPhone 14 Plus is supposedly quite low as consumers prefer to spend the extra $100 USD for the iPhone 14 Pro and its extra features. The iPhone 14 line was unveiled during Apple’s Far Out even in September and has only been available to the public for a little over two weeks.

The saving grace for Apple so far has been sales of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Bloomberg describes sales of both models as “robust,” and Kuo reports that Apple has switched “production lines of the iPhone 14 to the iPhone 14 Pro models, which will help improve Apple's product mix/iPhone ASP in 4Q22.” The problem is this is unsustainable. Expanding on his iPhone 14 Plus sales article, The Information reporter Wayne Ma explained that “while at least one supplier also has been told to boost iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max parts production, it's insignificant when compared with the same amount of parts for units they are cutting for the iPhone 14 Plus.” Things are unlikely to get better in the short term. Especially with Apple recently increasing iPhone prices in most countries — something that wasn’t covered widely due to price freezes in the US and China. But even these markets look set to pay more in 2023. There is also a value problem here. In conjunction with rising prices, iPhone 14 trade-in prices are falling twice as fast as iPhone 13 models, which risks undermining the so-called ‘Apple Tax’ as a price worth paying. Throw in worldwide hyperinflation, spiraling energy prices, and a cost of living crisis in several key markets and relying on Pro models is a gamble. Despite this, Apple still has plenty of time on its side. In a contracting market, Apple remains the only smartphone manufacturer with positive growth at least for now. But iPhones are not alone. Questions are also being asked about the pricing and positioning of MacBook Air models and the entire iPad line-up. Apple fans are notoriously loyal, but there are signs this loyalty is now being tested to breaking point. How Apple reacts will be telling.