Apple warns Covid restrictions in China are hurting iPhone production

After a Covid outbreak at a Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, China, some workers chose to go home. Pictured here are the shuttle buses on Oct. 30, 2022.

Apple said in a statement on Sunday that it has temporarily reduced iPhone 14 production because of Covid-19 restrictions at its primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max assembly plant.

The factory is operating at a reduced capacity. Customers would experience longer wait times when ordering devices, and it warned that it would ship less units.

It is possible that Apple will sell fewer phones in the December quarter because it is having trouble meeting demand. Growth slowed in the December quarter.

The affected models are higher-priced than other models and start at $1099.

The majority of Apple's iPhone production takes place in Zhengzhou. The factory in China has had to deal with employees leaving because of its Covid policies.

In order for facilities like the iPhone facility in Zhengzhou to operate as closed loops, they have to be separated from the outside world.

It currently takes 31 days to receive an iPhone 14 Pro if ordered from Apple's website, longer than the average 2 day lead time for less expensive iPhone models, according to a note on Sunday.