Apple has planned to cut production of the iPhone 14 Plus in less than two weeks after its debut, according to a report by The Information.
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The Cupertino-based company has told at least one manufacturer in China to immediately halt production of iPhone 14 Plus components while its procurement team reevaluates demand for the product, the report said. Two downstream Apple suppliers in China that rely on the parts and assemble them into larger modules are also cutting their production 70% and 90% respectively. These suppliers are the only ones that make the specific module for iPhones.
Customers are preferring the iPhone 14 Pro over the iPhone 14 Plus as the former is more feature filled, comes with a larger screen and costs only $100 more than latter, which is priced at $899.
There have already been signs of lacklustre demand for the iPhone 14 Plus. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in an investor note last month stating that pre-orders for the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus were poor and that Apple may cut manufacturing for the two devices.
Bloomberg also reported last month that Apple cancelled plans to boost overall iPhone 14 production.
The production cuts come amid a weaker global economy and rising inflation that has hurt consumer spending.
The iPhone 14 Plus production echoes the production halt of the iPhone 12 Mini in early 2021. Apple told several suppliers to stop manufacturing iPhone 12 Mini parts and later final assembly of the device within the first six months of its release.
Later, the iPhone maker discontinued the Mini product line, the report noted.
