iPhone shipments can drop by 20 million this quarter, Foxconn can lose monopoly on iPhone 15 Pro production

Apple's shipments of iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max smartphones may drop by 15-20 million this quarter due to personnel problems at Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant in China. This forecast was made by Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known analyst at TF International Securities Group.

Deficit of iPhones

Forecasts from other experts were more optimistic. Many said that by the end of the quarter Apple could ship 80-85 million smartphones, which is about 6 million fewer than originally planned.

According to Reuters, Ming-Chi Kuo is confident that the company is unlikely to ship more than 70-75 million smartphones. Moreover, he said, in the current situation, demand for iPhones will also decrease. people will not put off buying a smartphone too much and will just buy phones from other companies. The expert also predicts that the workload of the plant in Zhengzhou will increase to a maximum of 30-40% in December, whereas in November it did not exceed 20%.

According to media reports, Apple has transferred some orders, which Foxconn is currently unable to fully fulfill, to Pegatron and Luxshare factories, but it is only about 10%, which is unlikely to significantly increase the supply volume in the near future. According to the most optimistic forecasts, shipments from these plants are unlikely to begin before 2022.

According to Kuo's forecast, it will also affect the company's revenue, which may decrease by 20-30% following the results of the quarter.

However, CFRA Research experts believe that Apple will be able to get some of the lost profits in the first quarter of next year. But ROBO Global experts believe that in 2023 demand for Apple smartphones may not recover and reach previous levels.

Foxconn may lose its monopoly on assembling the iPhone 15 Pro

Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant could lose its monopoly on the assembly of the iPhone 15 Pro because of the problems, as unrest at the plant and a significant reduction in production will lead to large losses for Apple.

It's no coincidence that the Foxconn plant is called the "City of iPhones." iPhones and MacBooks were assembled in this very factory, which employs 200,000 people. Moreover, it was considered the largest iPhone assembly site in the world.

But since Apple most likely will not want to find itself in a similar situation after what happened, the company will probably start expanding the list of partners involved in the production of its devices, and next year the assembly of the iPhone 15 Pro will be handled not only by Foxconn, but also by many other factories.

Problems at Foxconn?

If you're not aware of the Foxconn plant's problems, here's a brief introduction to what's going on there. On November 23, workers began mass protests because they were unhappy with the delayed payment of wages and promised bonuses, which have never been paid. They were also dissatisfied with the anti-epidemic restrictions imposed due to the spread of the coronavirus.

In fact, problems at the factory began back in October when 20,000 of the 200,000 employees contracted the coronavirus and the factory imposed quarantine measures, forcing employees to work, eat and even sleep inside the factory. They complained about the lack of food and medicine, some were fed only bread and instant noodles, others were not fed at all but were not allowed out of the factory. At the time, many employees began simply fleeing the factory. In those days there were many videos and pictures on the Internet of people climbing over fences and fleeing.