Black Friday is finally here, which means that shoppers are busy hunting for good deals on various tech stores, including the Cupertino-giant Apple.
However, Black Friday shoppers found themselves disappointed after leaving Apple Stores with no iPhone 14, the company's newest smartphone series. This is due to the ongoing production issues in China that have caused shortages of iPhones, as per a report by Reuters.
iPhone Shortages
According to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, the iPhone shortages were getting worse and were prominent this morning on Black Friday across multiple shops, Apple Stores, and online channels.
"We believe many Apple Stores now have iPhone 14 Pro shortages based on model or color or storage of up to 25%-30% below normal heading into a typical December, which is not a good sign heading into the holiday season for Cupertino," Ives said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
This news also comes at the heels of the ongoing unrest at the Foxconn plant, Apple's supplier, with many workers protesting for alleged delayed bonus payments at the Zhengzhou factory.
According to reports, the workers were also protesting because of scarce food and supplies in their dormitory.
As Christmas and the Lunar New Year approaches, production at the biggest Apple iPhone plant in the world has also been hampered by the COVID-19 regulations coupled with the ongoing unrest of its workers.
These recent developments may very well paint a bleak outlook for Apple's sales since there is always a high demand for new phones during the holiday season.
Will this Shortage Last Until Christmas?
An employee at an Apple store in a mall in Bethesda, Maryland, told Reuters that the 14 Pro and Pro Max were almost completely out of stock. Another worker at a store in Raleigh, North Carolina, said that while there were a limited number of iPhone 14s available, the iPhone 14 Plus is out of stock.
This week, US electronics retailer Best Buy issued a warning about a possible scarcity of new iPhones during the holiday shopping season.
Wedbush's Ives anticipates sales of 8 million iPhones this year, a significant decrease from the 10 million phones sold on Black Friday weekend in 2021. Ives noted that this is primarily driven by supply issues.
If one wishes to order online, he claimed that wait periods for the new iPhone 14 Pro on Apple's website are currently up to 40 days and that they would only lengthen over the coming weeks as more people look for iPhone Pros to buy as gifts for the holidays.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Jace Dela Cruz
