Due to recent covid lockdown restrictions and labor protests at an iPhone production plant, Apple is on track to ship 20 percent fewer iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max units than anticipated. The shortfall is worse than the 6 million units predicted earlier this week. mass shipments won't resume until late December at the earliest because the 14 Pro and Pro Max were hard to locate.

The workers were forced to live on-site in order to contain the covid outbreak. Some newly recruited employees were offered a chance to leave the facility due to the protests that followed.

Apple warned customers that they should expect long waits for the 14 Pro models when the measures were put in place. There are no Pro and Pro Max models in stock at any Apple store in Seattle or Portland. The 14 Pro is expected to be delivered on December 29th.

This shortfall has "major downside risks" for Apple, according to the analyst. It is likely that Apple will look for other suppliers. 10 percent of the company's production has already been moved to other Chinese manufacturers, and the company will likely have a hard time remaining the sole assembler for the 15 Pro series.

If you were going to give someone a $1,000 phone, you might not be able to. Maybe that is for the best. Prospective buyers of the 14 Pro won't just wait until the device is available in January and buy it then, according to the person. Most of the demand won't exist.

That's correct. With a recession looming, more people may be willing to make do with an older phone for a short time. The standard phone isn't really compelling. It is a small upgrade compared to the Pro. If you haven't already, upgrade to the more exciting iOS 16 if you don't want to get a new device.