Shipping times for Apple's iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max indicate that many of models can no longer be ordered in time for Christmas.
According to CNBC, checks on Apple's website now show a shipping date of December 27 for "several iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models."
UBS analyst David Vogt told clients Wednesday that the situation has now "hit an extreme level", and warned that iPhone risks "are increasing ahead of the all-important Black Friday / Holiday selling season as wait times in the US are extended at ~34 days."
Global shortage
Apple recently warned that severe disruption to its iPhone supply chain meant it expected shipments to be materially down compared to estimates, leading to longer wait times for all of its best iPhones. However, not being able to buy an iPhone before Christmas on November 17 is practically unheard of. "We now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated and customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products," the company said in a press release recently.
It comes following reports that Apple's largest iPhone factory, run by Foxconn in China, has lost 100,000 workers, nearly a third of its workforce, who have fled due to COVID lockdown measures. The site accounts for 80% of total iPhone production.
It means the best Black Friday iPhone deals are probably your best bet for getting your hands on an iPhone in time for the holidays. At the time of publication, every single model of iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max was showing a 5-week delivery time on Apple's website in the U.S..
Jefferies analyst Kyle McNealy has warned that Apple could lose $1 billion a week while the Zhengzhou facility remains locked down. Local government has called upon Chinese military veterans to show up at the factories for work in order to boost production.
