Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Apple says to expect “longer wait times” if you plan on ordering an iPhone 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max. In a press release, the company explains that covid restrictions are affecting its iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China, which is currently “operating at significantly reduced capacity.”
“We continue to see strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models,” Apple says. “However, we now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated and customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products.”
In October, a report from Reuters revealed that iPhone production could slump by at least 30 percent due to the strict covid restrictions affecting Foxconn, the China-based factory Apple uses to build its new iPhones. As noted by The New York Times, Foxconn’s 200,000 workers have recently been forced to stay inside the building during an outbreak with limited food and supplies for several days, leading workers to flee the facility in droves.
The company has already started shifting some production away from China and began making the base iPhone 14 model in India in September.