Apple is planning to keep the production of iPhone for 2022 roughly flat at about 220 million units, Bloomberg News reported, as China’s COVID-19 curbs, supply chain issues, and cooling demand hurt smartphone makers.
The iPhone maker’s supplier Foxconn has been able to keep its workers on-site in a closed loop system to limit the impact on production, but lockdowns in the country have pushed many to sound demand-related warnings.
Apple had also said last month any new lockdowns in China and Taiwan, where many parts and iPhones are produced, could bring new obstacles in terms of supply and demand in the current quarter.
Nikkei reported on Wednesday that the company had told its suppliers to speed up iPhone development after China’s COVID-19 lockdowns hampered schedule for at least one of the new phones.
Apple accounted for 22 percent of smartphone shipments in Q4 2021, thanks to demand for the iPhone 13, according to Canalys.
“Apple’s supply chain is starting to recover, but it was forced to cut production in Q4 2021 amid shortages of components and could not make enough iPhones to meet demand. In prioritized markets, Apple maintained adequate delivery times, but in some markets its customers had to wait to get their hands on the latest iPhones,” said Canalys Analyst Sanyam Chaurasia in January.
