Is it the Sony PS5 saga all over again? While demand for Apple’s newest flagship Pro models – the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max – has been steadily rising ahead of Christmas, the tech giant has warned customers there will be notable iPhone shipment delays; possibly for the rest of the year.
It seems China’s futile “Covid Zero” policy, which the rest of the world has since abandoned after the initial few waves, is the primary reason for the shipment delays, forcing Apple’s assembly plant in Zhengzhou, China to operate at a “significantly reduced capacity.”
Consider this a public service announcement. The district that houses the assembly plant, which is run by Foxconn, has been locked down for at least a week. And while that may not seem like a very long time, even a week of reduced labour at a plant producing the most in-demand smartphone of 2022 will have ripple effects for weeks and possibly months to come.
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If you’re ordering a new phone for the holiday season or gifting one, then you might have to factor this in if you want to get the timing right.
“As we have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prioritising the health and safety of the workers in our supply chain,” stated Apple in a media release.
“We continue to see strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. However, we now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated and customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products.”
According to some reports, if you placed your iPhone 14 order now, you would be waiting at least a month for the iPhone 14 Pro and possibly up to six weeks for the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
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Admittedly, it’s not quite as dire as the PS5 situation, which has seen Sony’s latest console become a rare sighting in retail stores around the world, primarily due to a global chip shortage that has seen demand far outstrip supply for over a year now.
If China’s “Covid Zero” policy continues, it’s more than likely we’ll be seeing more of these iPhone shipment delays pop up throughout the year. And if the start-stop economy continues, we can probably expect other technology delays given the industry still relies so heavily on China.
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