Following the shock Apple experienced regarding the availability of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max due to… China, it seems that the company is planning to take drastic measures to avoid facing the same problems with its next-generation models.
Initial calculations suggest that Apple may reduce its production by three million (!) units of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max in the third quarter of 2022. The unrest in China due to the country’s strict policy for coping with Covid 19, has resulted in the factory of the Taiwanese company Foxconn, the main manufacturer of the iPhone for many years, underperforming and unable to meet orders.
Its main factory in Zhengzhou is facing the most severe problems. Analysts explain that, apart from the challenge of lower-than-expected shipments and revenues in Q4 2022, it will also be difficult for Foxconn to continue being the exclusive assembler of the iPhone 15 Pro, the new generation of Apple’s mobiles. And this is because the company wants to reduce the risks related to its supply chain.
New collaborations for Apple
Already, to manage to offset the situation with the pieces that Foxconn will not be able to deliver, Apple has started to work with two other assembly/manufacturing companies. These are the Taiwanese Pegatron and the Chinese Luxshare. They are expected to cover 10% of Apple’s orders for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, with the first devices arriving in late December.
Wanting to minimize risks, it is very likely that Apple will make a major shift and generally reduce its dependency on Foxconn from now on, giving more orders to Pegatron and Luxshare for the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Ultra.
Eying Vietnam and India
It is already rumored that these companies plan to increase hiring and upgrade their assembly facilities to be able to serve Apple’s orders. In general, the technological giant’s goal is to move as much production as possible out of China, to countries like Vietnam and India.
However, Foxconn and its huge factory in Zhengzhou remains the largest iPhone assembly facility worldwide at this time, producing 70% of the devices that reach the shelves of stores.
