Apple can't make enough of the iPhone 14 Pro to meet demand

AppleInsider

A new report shows wait times for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have risen as demand is likely outpacing production.

iPhone 14 Pro devices

In a note to investors seen by AppleInsider, analyst David Vogt from investment bank UBS examined wait times of Apple's Pro line of smartphones using data that tracks iPhone availability across 30 countries.

In the US, the wait times for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro have increased by 5 to 25 days each. UBS captured data before the recent lockdowns in China that could impact production.

Vogt attributes the increase in wait times to high-end sell-through strength in September that exceeded expectations.

The sell-through rate measures the amount of inventory sold within a given timeframe relative to the amount of inventory received within the same period. It estimates how quickly a company can sell its inventory and receive revenue.

The sell-through rate for iPhones in September is believed to be 3% higher year-over-year, while the rates for the Pro models were 50% higher than the iPhone 13 Pro models in 2021. The early launch of the iPhone 14 lineup likely contributed, although demand was also up year-over-year.

According to the most recent data from UBS, wait times also increased in China. It jumped to about 24 days for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, compared to 39 days for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max in 2021.

Vogt believes the recent COVID-19 outbreak in China that affected Foxconn's main iPhone factory could negatively impact iPhone units in the December quarter. He forecasts 86 million units in that period, although Apple may fall slightly short of that figure.

UBS has a price target of $185 for AAPL, reflecting a value of around $171 for Apple's core hardware business.

Read on AppleInsider

JFC_PA

Worth the wait: my iPhone 14 pro max is terrific. Great cameras, fast and nimble. Battery drain is remarkably low. 

Madbum

The government 7 day lockdowns imposed was in the area around Foxconn but media report made it sound like it was only Foxconn

also this will actually help production as nobody can leave the factory like the anti USA weibo show they staged couple days ago 

Madbum

JFC_PA said:

Worth the wait: my iPhone 14 pro max is terrific. Great cameras, fast and nimble. Battery drain is remarkably low. 

Yeah with the 16.1 iOS update, my 14 pro has amazing battery life 

JFC_PA

Yet one can increase production , while increasing demand is far more out of a companies control. 

lewchenko

Amazing really considering most countries are experiencing a cost of living crisis with energy and interest rates spiralling upwards. The fact that people still prioritise £/$/€ 1000 phones is quite surprising. 

Marvin

lewchenko said:

Amazing really considering most countries are experiencing a cost of living crisis with energy and interest rates spiralling upwards. The fact that people still prioritise £/$/€ 1000 phones is quite surprising. 

The cost of a phone is a fraction of the cost of living. If it gets upgraded every 3 years on contract, it's $25/month:

https://www.att.com/buy/phones/apple-iphone-14-plus.html

This is an insignificant cost compared to $300/month on food, $1000/month on rent, $200/month on transport/expenses. If someone has $3k/month after tax, more than half is on the main living costs. An iPhone is less than 1% of monthly income.

Apple is in pretty much the best possible market (high volume, premium margins, affordable for billions of people) with the best product, no matter the market conditions.

waveparticle

Marvin said:

lewchenko said:

Amazing really considering most countries are experiencing a cost of living crisis with energy and interest rates spiralling upwards. The fact that people still prioritise £/$/€ 1000 phones is quite surprising. 

The cost of a phone is a fraction of the cost of living. If it gets upgraded every 3 years on contract, it's $25/month:

https://www.att.com/buy/phones/apple-iphone-14-plus.html

This is an insignificant cost compared to $300/month on food, $1000/month on rent, $200/month on transport/expenses. If someone has $3k/month after tax, more than half is on the main living costs. An iPhone is less than 1% of monthly income.

Apple is in pretty much the best possible market (high volume, premium margins, affordable for billions of people) with the best product, no matter the market conditions.

I am paying over $110/month to AT&T for two lines. That is over four times more than a iPhone.

fred1

I’m skeptical at best. It certainly seems like another ploy to increase demand, just as with the SE which still can’t be found and last year it was the new iPad Mini. I think Apple is taking advantage of the news about the COVID shutdowns in China to make the 14 harder to get and therefore more in demand. Of course I hope I’m wrong, but . . .

Madbum

JP234 said:

While having more demand than supply may on the face of it seem like a good problem to have, it's really just as bad as having more supply than demand. Both restrict cash flow and earnings for a corporation. Both Imbalances require intervention, and are equally difficult to rebalance.

That said, Apple Inc. is just one of myriad global companies that have outsourced their manufacturing processes to unpredictable and outright enemy countries, where governments, not industry, regulate their operations. Tariffs, retaliatory tariffs, Black Swan events (COVID-19 for instance) and those countries' reaction to them, blackmail, are just a fraction of the difficulties encountered in the search for the cheapest labor pools, rather than looking at the big picture: employing the customers who buy the products, rather than subsistence level workers, indentured workers, political prisoners and peons (It's hard to make slaves take pride in their work).

Sure, bringing manufacturing home would cost more in the short term (improvements in quality control processes would eliminate that disparity). But there wouldn't be the constant seesaw cycles of boom and bust that deprive Americans of long-term employment, and companies that are as loyal to their workers as the workers are to them. Steady employment, like America had in the 1950's provided a stable econmy without those disruptions. Americans were not able to afford as many things are we have now, but were they less happy, satisfied or fulfilled than you are now? I'd argue the opposite. Predictability is underrated.

Had to read this twice.

um no, having more demand than supply is 10000 better everyday and twice in Sunday lol

Madbum

Marvin said:

lewchenko said:

Amazing really considering most countries are experiencing a cost of living crisis with energy and interest rates spiralling upwards. The fact that people still prioritise £/$/€ 1000 phones is quite surprising. 

The cost of a phone is a fraction of the cost of living. If it gets upgraded every 3 years on contract, it's $25/month:

https://www.att.com/buy/phones/apple-iphone-14-plus.html

This is an insignificant cost compared to $300/month on food, $1000/month on rent, $200/month on transport/expenses. If someone has $3k/month after tax, more than half is on the main living costs. An iPhone is less than 1% of monthly income.

Apple is in pretty much the best possible market (high volume, premium margins, affordable for billions of people) with the best product, no matter the market conditions.

100 percent right. Every person need their phones, my 82 year old mom is on her phone all day , reading news and watching health clips on your tube, messaging with her friends.

she did nOne of that 10 years ago! $25 -$30 a month is all it costs for a new iPhone , compared that to $200 extra a month  for gas now on average! Or $300 a month  for food!

Apple is in a good spot I agree. Being connected is just too big part of people lives now.

and ironically, when locked down in China, the phone connection to outside world even more important.

what do people do sitting locked down for weeks? Shop or upgrade for new phone to help them better get through their lock down 

over the need for new shoes or bag or clothing….

Madbum

fred1 said:

I’m skeptical at best. It certainly seems like another ploy to increase demand, just as with the SE which still can’t be found and last year it was the new iPad Mini. I think Apple is taking advantage of the news about the COVID shutdowns in China to make the 14 harder to get and therefore more in demand. Of course I hope I’m wrong, but . . .

What incentive would Apple have to make it hard for people to pay them $1k for IPhone 14 pro?

fred1

Madbum said:

fred1 said:

I’m skeptical at best. It certainly seems like another ploy to increase demand, just as with the SE which still can’t be found and last year it was the new iPad Mini. I think Apple is taking advantage of the news about the COVID shutdowns in China to make the 14 harder to get and therefore more in demand. Of course I hope I’m wrong, but . . .

What incentive would Apple have to make it hard for people to pay them $1k for IPhone 14 pro?

As I said, the incentive is to give them the incentive to buy in the first place (There's a shortage? Then everyone must be buying them. I need to buy one too!) or to buy a more expensive model. That second doesn’t hold true in this case, but it certainly does with cheaper models, like the SE I’ve been trying to buy for weeks.

JFC_PA

Madbum said:

JFC_PA said:

Worth the wait: my iPhone 14 pro max is terrific. Great cameras, fast and nimble. Battery drain is remarkably low. 

Yeah with the 16.1 iOS update, my 14 pro has amazing battery life 

👍 Over last night, sub 1% per hour drop. 

tyler82

I got my pro max by checking apple store website/ app every day (sometimes several times a day) until one was available at my local apple store. This took about a week of persistence. They can still be had but you gotta act on it quick! I love my purple 256gb phone, coming from an iphone SE it is definitely money well spent! The island is my favorite feature, you forget that the "notch" is even there when using it. I shoot all my photos and videos in the highest quality settings now, and the photos I have taken turn out looking like they were taken buy a professional: https://i.imgur.com/MDepa3u.jpg

sunman42

JP234 said:

While having more demand than supply may on the face of it seem like a good problem to have, it's really just as bad as having more supply than demand. Both restrict cash flow and earnings for a corporation. Both Imbalances require intervention, and are equally difficult to rebalance.

That said, Apple Inc. is just one of myriad global companies that have outsourced their manufacturing processes to unpredictable and outright enemy countries, where governments, not industry, regulate their operations. Tariffs, retaliatory tariffs, Black Swan events (COVID-19 for instance) and those countries' reaction to them, blackmail, are just a fraction of the difficulties encountered in the search for the cheapest labor pools, rather than looking at the big picture: employing the customers who buy the products, rather than subsistence level workers, indentured workers, political prisoners and peons (It's hard to make slaves take pride in their work).

Sure, bringing manufacturing home would cost more in the short term (improvements in quality control processes would eliminate that disparity). But there wouldn't be the constant seesaw cycles of boom and bust that deprive Americans of long-term employment, and companies that are as loyal to their workers as the workers are to them. Steady employment, like America had in the 1950's provided a stable econmy without those disruptions. Americans were not able to afford as many things are we have now, but were they less happy, satisfied or fulfilled than you are now? I'd argue the opposite. Predictability is underrated.

Wow. I wonder how many times it has to be said. While Apple's move some years ago to production in China no doubt took advantage of low-cost assembly labor, that was not the reason for the move. China offered literally unparalleled supply chain engineering depth and a vast, domestic electronics industry ready to start production of pretty much anything on a moment's notice. What Apple was buying was a combination of good QA (overseen by Cupertino personnel) and redesign agility (thanks to the supply chain engineering depth) it couldn't;t achieve elsewhere.

I don't know how Apple is handling those factors in India and Vietnam, but it is clearly reacting to the problematic Beijing policy on covid, as well, perhaps, to a perception that long-term relations between the US and China are swirling down the drain.

waveparticle

JP234 said:

sunman42 said:

JP234 said:

While having more demand than supply may on the face of it seem like a good problem to have, it's really just as bad as having more supply than demand. Both restrict cash flow and earnings for a corporation. Both Imbalances require intervention, and are equally difficult to rebalance.

That said, Apple Inc. is just one of myriad global companies that have outsourced their manufacturing processes to unpredictable and outright enemy countries, where governments, not industry, regulate their operations. Tariffs, retaliatory tariffs, Black Swan events (COVID-19 for instance) and those countries' reaction to them, blackmail, are just a fraction of the difficulties encountered in the search for the cheapest labor pools, rather than looking at the big picture: employing the customers who buy the products, rather than subsistence level workers, indentured workers, political prisoners and peons (It's hard to make slaves take pride in their work).

Sure, bringing manufacturing home would cost more in the short term (improvements in quality control processes would eliminate that disparity). But there wouldn't be the constant seesaw cycles of boom and bust that deprive Americans of long-term employment, and companies that are as loyal to their workers as the workers are to them. Steady employment, like America had in the 1950's provided a stable econmy without those disruptions. Americans were not able to afford as many things are we have now, but were they less happy, satisfied or fulfilled than you are now? I'd argue the opposite. Predictability is underrated.

Wow. I wonder how many times it has to be said. While Apple's move some years ago to production in China no doubt took advantage of low-cost assembly labor, that was not the reason for the move. China offered literally unparalleled supply chain engineering depth and a vast, domestic electronics industry ready to start production of pretty much anything on a moment's notice. What Apple was buying was a combination of good QA (overseen by Cupertino personnel) and redesign agility (thanks to the supply chain engineering depth) it couldn't;t achieve elsewhere.

I don't know how Apple is handling those factors in India and Vietnam, but it is clearly reacting to the problematic Beijing policy on covid, as well, perhaps, to a perception that long-term relations between the US and China are swirling down the drain.

Moving supply from China to India and Vietnam is just more of the same thing. I'm old enough to remember when we used to call imports "cheap Japanese (crap)." Then the Japanese wanted to buy the things they made, quality outpaced American manufacturing, and labor got too expensive. Enter South Korea to pick up the cheap labor slack for Japan. Repeat the same scenario. Move to China. repeat. Move to India. repeat. Move to Vietnam. repeat.

Depressed regions of Africa and South America are next. American lifestyles require wage slavery by other nations to subsidize our lifestyles. At his peak, Nike paid Tiger Woods more than all their employees in Asia combined. Think on that a moment.

Capitalism is how Americans enjoy good lifestyles. Many foreigners come to America and found the same thing is sold much cheaper in US than their country. Why is that? Because the manufacturer sell to American buyers at lower price. This is how WalMart, Costco work, 

waveparticle

JP234 said:

waveparticle said:

JP234 said:

sunman42 said:

JP234 said:

While having more demand than supply may on the face of it seem like a good problem to have, it's really just as bad as having more supply than demand. Both restrict cash flow and earnings for a corporation. Both Imbalances require intervention, and are equally difficult to rebalance.

That said, Apple Inc. is just one of myriad global companies that have outsourced their manufacturing processes to unpredictable and outright enemy countries, where governments, not industry, regulate their operations. Tariffs, retaliatory tariffs, Black Swan events (COVID-19 for instance) and those countries' reaction to them, blackmail, are just a fraction of the difficulties encountered in the search for the cheapest labor pools, rather than looking at the big picture: employing the customers who buy the products, rather than subsistence level workers, indentured workers, political prisoners and peons (It's hard to make slaves take pride in their work).

Sure, bringing manufacturing home would cost more in the short term (improvements in quality control processes would eliminate that disparity). But there wouldn't be the constant seesaw cycles of boom and bust that deprive Americans of long-term employment, and companies that are as loyal to their workers as the workers are to them. Steady employment, like America had in the 1950's provided a stable econmy without those disruptions. Americans were not able to afford as many things are we have now, but were they less happy, satisfied or fulfilled than you are now? I'd argue the opposite. Predictability is underrated.

Wow. I wonder how many times it has to be said. While Apple's move some years ago to production in China no doubt took advantage of low-cost assembly labor, that was not the reason for the move. China offered literally unparalleled supply chain engineering depth and a vast, domestic electronics industry ready to start production of pretty much anything on a moment's notice. What Apple was buying was a combination of good QA (overseen by Cupertino personnel) and redesign agility (thanks to the supply chain engineering depth) it couldn't;t achieve elsewhere.

I don't know how Apple is handling those factors in India and Vietnam, but it is clearly reacting to the problematic Beijing policy on covid, as well, perhaps, to a perception that long-term relations between the US and China are swirling down the drain.

Moving supply from China to India and Vietnam is just more of the same thing. I'm old enough to remember when we used to call imports "cheap Japanese (crap)." Then the Japanese wanted to buy the things they made, quality outpaced American manufacturing, and labor got too expensive. Enter South Korea to pick up the cheap labor slack for Japan. Repeat the same scenario. Move to China. repeat. Move to India. repeat. Move to Vietnam. repeat.

Depressed regions of Africa and South America are next. American lifestyles require wage slavery by other nations to subsidize our lifestyles. At his peak, Nike paid Tiger Woods more than all their employees in Asia combined. Think on that a moment.

Capitalism is how Americans enjoy good lifestyles. Many foreigners come to America and found the same thing is sold much cheaper in US than their country. Why is that? Because the manufacturer sell to American buyers at lower price. This is how WalMart, Costco work, 

Capitalism is not how Americans enjoy good lifestyles. Foreign low wage and child labor are how Americans enjoy good lifestyles.

the reason you can buy a flannel shirt for $8-10 at Walmart? Because the man making it was being paid $5.00 a day. Or a week. Not because the mfr. gives Walmart a discount. That same shirt made here would cost 20-40 times as much.

You misunderstood me. I said the same flannel shirt was sold at higher price in foreign country than in US. Even if it is made in US. It is still true.