On Monday (7), Apple announced that the production of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max has been affected by the wave of Covid-19 circulating in China. The largest iPhone assembler in the country, Foxconn, located in Zhengzhou, is running at a reduced capacitydue to cases of coronavirus infection among employees.

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Apple said in an official statement that consumers will experience longer delivery times for their devices. “We expect less adoption of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max than previously thought. Consumers will face longer waiting times to receive their new products.” With Black Friday approaching, as well as end-of-year celebrations, this is definitely not the best time for Apple to run into production issues with the iPhone 14.

The Chinese city is closed until November 9th.

Despite good results in the last quarter, the problems faced by the Foxconn factory could change Apple’s sales forecast in the last months of the year. Last week, the Chinese government imposed a quarantine on the Zhengzhou region, where the automaker is based.

According to Counterpoint Research, Foxconn responsible for the production of 85% of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models.. The numbers show how important the company is to Apple’s sales plans.

On Foxconn’s official website, the company says it is working with the government “in a concerted effort to end the pandemic and resume production at full capacity as quickly as possible.” To prevent further contamination and keep the plant running, Foxconn developed strategies to avoid contact between employees as much as possibleincluding forcing entire teams to live on the spot.

There’s no word yet on when Foxconn will return to full capacity, but if you’re planning on getting an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max over the holiday season, it’s important to know that a cell phone can take a long time to arrive in your home.

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The changes should appear between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024.

Source: PhoneArena, Bloomberg.

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