Apple purportedly backing off plans to increase iPhone 14 production

Apple is backing off plans to increase production of its new iPhones this year after an anticipated surge in demand failed to materialize, reports Bloomberg, quoting unnamed “people familiar with the matter.”

The article adds that the tech giant 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. Instead, Apple plans 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, according to Bloomberg.

On Sept. 23, DigiTimes Asia claimed that Apple’s iPhone 14 “specs differentiation strategy seems to be working well, given extremely strong pre-order momentum for its Pro models,” and the vendor could see its market share for high-end smartphones hit a high of 60%.

The report, quoting industry analysts, says Apple’s market share for high-end handsets with unit prices of over US$500 has reached 55% in off season and 60% in peak season. DigiTimes adds that the true test for demand for ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ will be the sales performance in the first month following the initial wave of pre-ordered models (some of which are back-ordered into October).