Apple released the iPhone 14 lineup, which included the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max, a little over two months ago. In case you missed it, Apple dropped the iPhone Mini series in favor of a new “Plus” model in its 2022 iPhone lineup. As a result, the iPhone 14 Plus was born, sandwiched between the “vanilla” iPhone 14 and the more expensive iPhone 14 Pro models.
While Apple hasn’t released shipment figures for individual iPhone 14 models, industry analysts say the iPhone 14 Plus hasn’t exactly set the sales charts on fire. Instead, the company’s entry-level iPhone 14 model continues to drive a sizable portion of iPhone sales. Those looking for a more premium iPhone experience are skipping the Plus model entirely in favor of the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max, both of which are selling well.
According to reports, demand for the iPhone 14 Pro has far exceeded Apple’s expectations (Via 9To5Mac). While this is great news for any smartphone brand, it is becoming clear that the increased demand for the Pro models has resulted in a supply shortage. A new wave of Covid-19 infections in China, as well as the resulting lockdowns, have strained Apple’s already stressed supply chain.
According to a recent Reuters report, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry claims that Apple’s supply shortage will make it more difficult for millions of prospective iPhone 14 Pro customers to get their phones during the ongoing holiday season sales.
Barry also estimated that sales of the iPhone 14 during the 2022 holiday season could fall by 10% compared to last year in her interview with Reuters. According to the Reuters report, Apple will sell approximately 8 million iPhones during the Black Friday sales weekend, according to Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush. While this is an impressive figure by any standard, it pales compared to last year’s total of over 10 million units.
Meanwhile, many people were not surprised by Barry’s statement, given that Apple had already shown a supply crunch in an official press release earlier in November. The company later confirmed that production had resumed at the world’s largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China.
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The most recent crunch shows Apple’s over-reliance on a single manufacturing facility for its premium phones. The company is working on a long-term solution. Apple and its manufacturing partners (such as Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron) are increasingly considering India as an alternative manufacturing hub. In fact, Apple already has several manufacturing facilities in India, most of which produce lower-priced iPhones. Apple has stated that it wants India to manufacture 25% of all iPhones by 2025.
