Apple says COVID-19 cases impacted manufacturing facilities, resulting in longer wait times for its iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max handsets.
- What’s happening? Apple has admitted that people who order an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max will see longer wait times and reduced product availability.
- Why care? Because you want to receive your iPhone without waiting too long.
- What to do? This situation could get even worse before it improves. The sooner you order holiday presents for Apple fans in your family, the better.
Apple confirms longer iPhone 14 Pro delivery times
Asian factories that churn out Apple products are impacted by recent COVID-19 cases which have resulted in lockdowns, significantly reducing output. Of course, Apple has been working with suppliers to return to normal production levels.
In the meantime, a press release published in the Apple Newsroom explains why Apple now expects lower shipments of the iPhone 14 Pros, with shoppers facing longer wait times to receive their new handsets.
Here’s what Apple wrote:
COVID-19 restrictions have temporarily impacted the primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max assembly facility located in Zhengzhou, China. The facility is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity. As we have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prioritizing the health and safety of the workers in our supply chain.
Zhengzhou, also known as iPhone City, is home to the main iPhone assembly.
So not only are the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max being delivered with a significant delay (at the time of writing, delivery times were 4-5 weeks on the online Apple Store) but are also seeing reduced availability across sales channels.
On a brighter note, Apple's supplier Pegatron has begun assembling the iPhone 14 in India now that production in China is in lockdown mode https://t.co/XIAU9glpU3
— iDownloadBlog (@iDownloadBlog) November 7, 2022
iPhone 14 demand could be cooling
Apple originally planned to produce 90 million units of the iPhone 14 family but has since reportedly brought the figure down to 87 million units, Bloomberg reported. “The reduction is primarily due to softer demand for the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus models, cheaper alternatives to the high-end Pro offerings,” Bloomberg wrote.
As soon as COVID-19 is under control and manufacturers decide to raise production output, wait times for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Mac should drop back to normal levels (1-3 working days ). Read: How to sync iPhone to iPad
There’s no wait time for the not-so-popular iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max models.