Wired
Even a very strong Apple cannot avoid being affected by the continuous changes in the global economic landscape, coupled with severe inflation in many regions, which has greatly weakened the demand for the iPhone 14 series of smartphones. Although Apple had notified suppliers earlier that it would increase production of the iPhone 14 series, it was eventually forced to cancel the plan.
According to relevant media reports, Apple initially set a target shipment volume of 90 million units in 2022. Later, it required supply chain manufacturers to adjust their stocking volume to increase the output of 6 million units. However, the rapidly declining economic situation caused the consumer market demand to shrink rapidly. , prompting Apple to make a decision to maintain the original mass production rhythm, and the target of 90 million units is basically the same as last year’s iPhone 13 series.
The current demand for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max is higher than that of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Max, for which Apple asked suppliers to adjust production lines and shift some production capacity to higher-end models. After this adjustment, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments accounted for 60% to 65% of the iPhone 14 series, with the iPhone 14 Pro Max accounting for a higher proportion than the iPhone 14 Pro.
While the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are popular, economic conditions around the world have reduced consumers’ desire to buy. As the world’s largest smartphone market, mainland China sold 987,000 iPhone 14 series in the first three days after the launch, a drop of 11% compared to the same period last year.
The slowdown in the iPhone production plan due to the market downturn has also affected Apple’s stock price. On September 28, 2022, the US stock market closed at $149.84 per share, down 1.27%, and once fell more than 4% during the session.
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