Apple is scaling back production of its new iPhones after an anticipated increase in demand failed to materialize, according to reports from Bloomberg.
The reports led to falls in the stock prices of Apple’s Asian supplies, including iPhone assemblers Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, which dropped 2.9 percent, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which produces chips for the iPhone and fell 1.8 percent.
Apple CEO Tim Cook waves as he arrives for the Economic Summit held for the China Development Forum in Beijing on March 23, 2019. (NG HAN GUAN/AFP via Getty Images)
The bulk of iPhone production takes place in Asia, at facilities like the sprawling “iPhone city” Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou, China. The company has recently shown signs that it wants to move out of China, recently announcing that it would manufacture its flagship iPhone in nearby India.
Via Bloomberg:
“Disappointing iPhone demand may reverberate throughout the supply chain, and impact tech heavy Taiwan and Korea the most,” said Marvin Chen, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.
Apple has told suppliers to pull back from efforts to increase assembly of the iPhone 14 product family by as many as 6 million units in the second half of this year after an anticipated surge in demand failed to materialize, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News.
Instead, the company will aim to produce 90 million handsets for the period, roughly the same level as the prior year and in line with Apple’s original forecast this summer, the people said.
The drop-off in demand for Apple’s iPhones, the smartphone that has become a symbol of affluence in the digital era, could be another sign of the wider economic slowdown.
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.