Why One iPhone 14 Model's Production Is Falling Behind Schedule

Grim news for those of us who are looking forward to the upcoming iPhone 14: Apple may have run into some pretty serious delays, and if things don't improve, those delays might only get worse. According to Nikkei Asia, the development of at least one iPhone 14 model has fallen three weeks behind schedule due to the recent COVID-10 lockdowns in China. The country enforces a strict zero-COVID policy and seeing a rise in coronavirus cases in recent weeks has pushed China's leadership to enforce lockdowns in a big way. Although restrictions are slowly easing, the damage to the supply chain might be bigger than what factory workers can still reasonably make up for by rushing production and working day and night.

"It is challenging to make up for the lost time. Apple and its suppliers are working around the clock to speed up development," an executive with an Apple supplier told Nikkei Asia, noting that the pace of reopening Apple's Shanghai production lines has been "rather slow." With new iPhone 14 models set to release later this year, this could potentially end in disaster, seeing as Apple usually tends to release its products around the same time every year.

According to the report, Apple has told its suppliers to speed up their efforts in order to make up for the month it has lost during the Shanghai lockdown. Although delays don't mean that we won't see the iPhone 14 released at all, they very well might mean that the production volume will be small at the start. This translates to shortages, where more people want to buy the new phone than there are phones up for sale.

It's not a secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected supply chains all across the globe. However, with the restrictions growing laxer in many parts of the world, one might expect that factory work would slowly begin to recover. While this is certainly true, and things such as the chip shortage and graphics card shortage have seen improvements in recent months, this is not a universal truth. The lockdowns that took place in Shanghai in March serve as proof that the pandemic still affects the production of new electronics. Seeing as Apple chiefly relies on China for the production of its new devices, any lockdowns in that area can impact the manufacturer greatly. According to a QZ report, 90% of Apple's production takes place in China, with just 10% being moved to Vietnam and India.

Apple has made it clear that new iPhones are coming, and according to the rumor mill, there's plenty to get excited for. As per MacRumors, the company is planning to release a 6.1-inch iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro as well as a 6.7-inch iPhone Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max. At the moment, we do not know which one of these is the most affected by the Shanghai lockdowns. 

Let's hope that the delays and subsequent shortages don't mean that no one will be able to get the new iPhones whenever they are released. Tesla has run into a similar problem as Apple recently, and the production in those factories continues around the clock.