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Journalism of Courage
If you’ve tried to get your hands on an iPhone 14 Pro series phone recently, it’s no secret that stocks are hard to find. With wait times going over 4 weeks for the more expensive models in major markets, including India, Apple fans are in a fix.
The shortage in stock can reportedly be due to a multitude of factors. One of them is the rise in sales during what is the holiday season in many countries. Another is the growing political unrest in China, which happens to be one of Apple’s key manufacturing sectors.
As per a report by Bloomberg, Apple has already stated that various COVID breakouts in China have already led to supply shortages. A manufacturing shortfall of 6 million units of the iPhone 14 Pro series is also expected.
In the city of Zhengzhou, waves of protests by employees have publicly challenged China’s zero-COVID policy which has led to long-term lockdowns for almost three years now.
Videos of employees of Foxconn, which happens to be the biggest Apple iPhone manufacturer responsible for 70% of shipped iPhones globally, also show them clashing with security forces.
The iPhone 14 Pro models currently will need up to 4 weeks to ship, irrespective of which storage variant or colour you buy, being one of the most affected phones in the lineup. The iPhone 14 Pro Max also required 4 weeks to ship for all colours and storage variants.
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus models on the other hand (non-Pro) are not affected by these factors yet and are currently available to ship immediately.
Apple has already officially discontinued the Pro/Pro Max variants of older iPhone models like the iPhone 13 series. That leaves users no way to buy a Pro-series iPhone quickly, at least from the Apple Store in India. Users will have to try their luck at offline retailers or the refurbished market if they must buy a new iPhone.
