iPhone 14 Pro availability improves despite assembler riots

A Foxconn facility

Lead times for the iPhone 14 Pro orders have moderated slightly outside of China, but the ongoing COVID-related labor problems at the main iPhone factory are still a problem.

Week 12 of the JP Morgan Apple Product Availability Tracker has seen mixed results across all main iPhone 14 models. On a global basis, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus have seen lead times grow from 2 days in week 11 to 3 days, the Pro and Pro Max saw times reduce to averages of 35 days each from 41 days apiece a week prior.

The reduced lead times for the Pro models are seen as "encouraging trends in relation to supply improvement," according to JP Morgan. In most regions outside of China, the lead times have gone down.

However, the elevated lead times in China are said to show that challenges at to the Zhengzhou facility in China, Apple's main producer of Pro models, are still ongoing. The continued issues at the factory could mean it will take time for "supply and demand to reach balance relative to years past," the tracker seen by AppleInsider reads.

Even so, the overall moderation of lead times for the models "appear indicative of cycling past the worst in relation to supply challenges," analysts behind the tracker write. The continued situation and delays in returning to a normal level of production at the factory "could limit the pace with which the supply-demand equilibrium can be reached in the coming months," though supply does has somewhat rebounded already.

Against the iPhone 13 generation, the base iPhone 14 model lead times are relatively in line with the previous versions, while the Pro models are now comparatively longer.

In the United States, the iPhone 14 and Plus lead times are relatively stable at 4 days versus 3 days one week prior, while Pro models moderated to 33 days from 40 days. While the iPhone 14 and Plus are available for same-day pickup, the Pro models are largely unavailable.

For China, the base models stay at 2 days, in line with the iPhone 13 comparatives. The Pro and Pro Max times are still at 43 days, the longest lead times across all regions being tracked.

In Europe, German and British lead times for the iPhone 14 and Plus hit 4 days, up from 1 day a week ago, which is said to be in line with the iPhone 13. The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are at 32 days in Germany, down from 39 days one week earlier, and 33 days in the UK, down from 40 days.

For the Wearables Tracker, supply and demand seems to be balanced. For the Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra, JPM says lead times of 6, 7, and 4 days respectively are stable versus one week ago.

The second-generation AirPods Pro have seen a marginal increase in lead times, from 2 days to 3 days.

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5 Comments

radarthekat 12 Years · 3904 comments

About 2 years ago

JP234 said:

Not really excited about getting an iPhone made by disgruntled Chinese peons, imprisoned in dormitories, making wages insufficient to afford the products they make. Add in the increasing tensions between the United States and China, and the banning of Huawei devices and parts from U.S. due to concerns about embedded spyware.

Do I trust the Chinese government (who has recently assigned military troops to work at FoxConn) not to embed something nefarious in my shiny new toy?

Interesting sentiment. Can employees assembling BMW 5 series sedans afford the products they build? How about folks building $1 million homes? Cartier watches? Do GM, Ford, or railway workers ever become disgruntled and go on strike? Should we not want the products shipped by rail now?

Are military troops assigned to quell disruptions at a high technology factory trained to re-engineer the products as they are being assembled? That's some super spy James Bond military training!

muthuk_vanalingam 8 Years · 1371 comments

About 2 years ago

radarthekat said:

JP234 said:

Not really excited about getting an iPhone made by disgruntled Chinese peons, imprisoned in dormitories, making wages insufficient to afford the products they make. Add in the increasing tensions between the United States and China, and the banning of Huawei devices and parts from U.S. due to concerns about embedded spyware.

Do I trust the Chinese government (who has recently assigned military troops to work at FoxConn) not to embed something nefarious in my shiny new toy?

Interesting sentiment. Can employees assembling BMW 5 series sedans afford the products they build? How about folks building $1 million homes? Cartier watches? Do GM, Ford, or railway workers ever become disgruntled and go on strike? Should we not want the products shipped by rail now?
Are military troops assigned to quell disruptions at a high technology factory trained to re-engineer the products as they are being assembled? That's some super spy James Bond military training!

Well said. On reading his post, my thoughts were pretty similar to what you have posted. Stranger still - he is doubling down on his original post with some political rhetoric where none exists.

chadbag 13 Years · 2029 comments

About 2 years ago

JP234 said:

radarthekat said:

JP234 said:

Not really excited about getting an iPhone made by disgruntled Chinese peons, imprisoned in dormitories, making wages insufficient to afford the products they make. Add in the increasing tensions between the United States and China, and the banning of Huawei devices and parts from U.S. due to concerns about embedded spyware.

Do I trust the Chinese government (who has recently assigned military troops to work at FoxConn) not to embed something nefarious in my shiny new toy?

Interesting sentiment. Can employees assembling BMW 5 series sedans afford the products they build? How about folks building $1 million homes? Cartier watches? Do GM, Ford, or railway workers ever become disgruntled and go on strike? Should we not want the products shipped by rail now?
Are military troops assigned to quell disruptions at a high technology factory trained to re-engineer the products as they are being assembled? That's some super spy James Bond military training!

Keep on taking that blue pill. You wouldn't like the side effects of the red one.

While I am with you on the desirability of removing China from the pipeline for Apple products, the evidences given in your post are rather lacking. Random former PLA workers working on the production line at Foxconn for the iPhone are not a threat to adding in spy crap. That’s be like asking you local ford or GM worker on the line to add in modified software to a car. Not likely.

I am also against the outsourcing to foreign countries by US companies of their manufacturing. US companies should be manufacturing in the US. Now Apple maintains a rather large footprint in the US so they get more of a pass ( but not totally) on my next point: companies that claim to be US companies and sell under their U.S. name where their stuff is made by some outsourced contract manufacturer in China are not really participating in the U.S. economy. They are takers and not participants. They want to take from the economy but not give by providing the jobs to let people have money to buy stuff. The social economic contract is one where everyone participates to make the system work. Takers aren’t helping the system work. They’re just taking. I have no problems with Chinese based companies selling Chinese made products under their own name here. We know they are imported and can take it or leave it. I do have problems with US based companies selling under their U.S. name products made elsewhere, especially where those companies have little footprint here beside corp offices and maybe some logistics. Think all the name brand stuff stuff you buy from your favorite US names where it is all made in China.

Apple gets a partial pass as they do have a significant workforce in the US, especially in development/R&D etc (not just retail) and a reasonable amount of their components are also US made (or non China made). I think Apple should make more of their stuff here but they do have a very significant footprint and participate as both a taker and a giver so as I said I give them and similar companies a partial pass

waveparticle 3 Years · 1497 comments

About 2 years ago

chadbag said:

JP234 said:

radarthekat said:

JP234 said:

Not really excited about getting an iPhone made by disgruntled Chinese peons, imprisoned in dormitories, making wages insufficient to afford the products they make. Add in the increasing tensions between the United States and China, and the banning of Huawei devices and parts from U.S. due to concerns about embedded spyware.

Do I trust the Chinese government (who has recently assigned military troops to work at FoxConn) not to embed something nefarious in my shiny new toy?

Interesting sentiment. Can employees assembling BMW 5 series sedans afford the products they build? How about folks building $1 million homes? Cartier watches? Do GM, Ford, or railway workers ever become disgruntled and go on strike? Should we not want the products shipped by rail now?
Are military troops assigned to quell disruptions at a high technology factory trained to re-engineer the products as they are being assembled? That's some super spy James Bond military training!

Keep on taking that blue pill. You wouldn't like the side effects of the red one.

While I am with you on the desirability of removing China from the pipeline for Apple products, the evidences given in your post are rather lacking. Random former PLA workers working on the production line at Foxconn for the iPhone are not a threat to adding in spy crap. That’s be like asking you local ford or GM worker on the line to add in modified software to a car. Not likely.
I am also against the outsourcing to foreign countries by US companies of their manufacturing. US companies should be manufacturing in the US. Now Apple maintains a rather large footprint in the US so they get more of a pass ( but not totally) on my next point: companies that claim to be US companies and sell under their U.S. name where their stuff is made by some outsourced contract manufacturer in China are not really participating in the U.S. economy. They are takers and not participants. They want to take from the economy but not give by providing the jobs to let people have money to buy stuff. The social economic contract is one where everyone participates to make the system work. Takers aren’t helping the system work. They’re just taking. I have no problems with Chinese based companies selling Chinese made products under their own name here. We know they are imported and can take it or leave it. I do have problems with US based companies selling under their U.S. name products made elsewhere, especially where those companies have little footprint here beside corp offices and maybe some logistics. Think all the name brand stuff stuff you buy from your favorite US names where it is all made in China.

Apple gets a partial pass as they do have a significant workforce in the US, especially in development/R&D etc (not just retail) and a reasonable amount of their components are also US made (or non China made). I think Apple should make more of their stuff here but they do have a very significant footprint and participate as both a taker and a giver so as I said I give them and similar companies a partial pass

This reads like a socialist. Do you know Apple sells less than half of iPhones in US? And Disney has amusement parks in Japan, Hong Kong, and China?