October 19, 2022
Due to the weak global economy, inflation, iPhone 14 Plus pricing, and demand re-evaluation after demand has not increased as much as expected, Apple is scaling back production of the iPhone 14 Plus just a few weeks after it began shipments.
The iPhone 14 Plus, which went on sale a month later than usual due to production delays, sold poorly, according to Taiwanese electronics newsletter DigiTimes. Sales of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus were lower than expected, but demand for the more expensive Pro models was higher. This is reminiscent of what happened with the iPhone Mini, which also failed to gain traction with consumers.
While one of Apple’s Chinese suppliers was ordered to stop production of a phone component less than two weeks after its debut, two other suppliers that assemble modules from that component have significantly reduced production.
Consumers favor the more expensive iPhone 14 Pro over the iPhone 14 Plus, in line with an earlier Bloomberg report that in September, the company asked suppliers to abandon plans to increase iPhone 14 production, in line with an analysis by Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that pre-orders for the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus were low, raising the possibility that Apple would reduce production orders for the two devices.
According to Bloomberg, Apple also cancelled plans to increase total iPhone 14 production from 90 million units to 96 million units in the second half of 2022. Bloomberg also explained that due to the higher demand for the Pro models compared to interest in the more affordable standard models, production capacity shifted to the Pro models.
The sources for this piece include articles in Reuters and Reuters.
