The launch of Apple's 2022 lineup of iPhone is rumoured be delayed as manufacturing has been affected by slowdowns or shutdowns caused by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in China.
China is the Cupertino giant's largest manufacting and assembly hub. Recently, the rising number of COVID-19 cases in parts of the country have forced localised lockdowns or the imposition of severe restrictions, which have affected many of Apple's suppliers and supply chain partners, media reports claim. The ongoing semiconductor shortage too has had a role to play, these reports suggest.
It is currently speculated that Apple will launch four phones in two sizes — the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro with a 6.1-inch screen, and the iPhone 14 Max and 14 Pro Max with a 6.7-inch screen. In normal times, Apple's latest series of iPhones will enter mass production around this time of the year.
Since the iPhone 4s in 2012, Apple has launched its phones and other hardware in September. The only exceptions were in 2017, when the iPhone X was announced in September but launched in November, 2018, when iPhone XR was announced in September and launched the next month, and 2020, when COVID-19 pushed the announcement of the iPhone 12 series by a month, at least.
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Many Apple suppliers’ factories have been forced to close or limit production due to the recent COVID-19 wave in China and other countries. Therefore, it will be very difficult for them to ensure the timely delivery of components for the iPhone 14 series, which is soon to be launched into mass production, according to a Digit News report.
Apple’s constraints stemmed from the Shanghai corridor as Shanghai and the nearby provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang have one of the highest concentrations of major suppliers, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a Wall Street Journal report. About 31 companies supplying to Apple are in Shanghai, 79 in Jiangsu province and another seven in Zhejiang province.
However, Apple suppliers in Shanghai and surrounding areas, including Luxshare Precision and Wistron, have been given priority to restart and are gradually resuming production. Suppliers located in Taiwan have also resumed production.
Tim Cook is reported to have said that “nearly all affected final assembly plants have now restarted. We are pleased that the number of infections reported in Shanghai has decreased over the past few days”. However, Cook admitted that while almost all suppliers have reopened, it will take some time for these factories to return to standard production levels.
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