Trial Production of Apple’s iPhone 14 Underway, Mass Production to Begin in August

We widely expect Apple to unveil the iPhone 14 in mid-September. Some speculators point to September 13 as the day of the announcement, but the Cupertino-based tech giant hasn’t confirmed that. However, news from China suggests Apple has already begun trial production of the iPhone 14.
Expecting Even Better Sales Than Last Year
Wall Street and other analysts aren’t agreeing over how well the iPhone 14 will sell. Some say they new flagship smartphone will perform even better than the iPhone 13. On the other hand, financial analyst Brian White predicts the iPhone 14 may battle weak overall consumer spending in the fall.
Sources in China familiar with Apple’s own forecasts and plans disagree. According to a recent report from Chinese outlet ITHome, Apple has begun trial production for the iPhone 14. It plans to begin mass production in August. Going further, the sources say Apple has informed its suppliers to expect initial sales of the iPhone 14 to exceed those of the iPhone 13 a year ago.
The rationale lies in the fact that Apple focuses on the high-end smartphone market. Even if inflation rises and major economies fall into a recession, some say, Apple will continue to lead the smartphone industry in sales.
These analysts believe core commodity inflation, such as that in the food and fuel markets, has less of an impact on Apple’s relatively richer user base. They point out that even though overall demand in the smartphone market has cooled off, iPhone sales momentum has remained strong throughout July.
Sales of iPhone 13 May Actually Exceed Prior Year’s
Consumer spending on the iPhone often backs off in July and August. Folks are waiting for the next model to begin shipping. However, this year may be different. One source said shipments of the iPhone 13 in July were actually a third higher from one factories than last July.
Of course, that raises one important question. Are those higher production numbers due to stronger demand, or was that factory simply making up for another plant shutting down during the Chinese COVID-19 lockdowns? Clearly, it will take time to see just how well Apple’s iPhone sales did during the usual summer slowdown.
iPhone 14 Trial Production Beginning Right on Schedule
All of that said, we can take one thing away from the reports. If Apple really has begun trial production of the iPhone 14 (and we have no reason to doubt the news), that’s right on schedule. Cupertino tends to launch trial production in June or July, then mass production in August. That ensures sufficient supply is ready for a launch in September.
Tags: Apple, featured, iPhone 14, supply chain