Kuo: iPhone 14 Max production is delayed but that isn't Apple's biggest threat

Purple Iphone 14 Pro Render
Purple Iphone 14 Pro Render (Image credit: Front Page Tech)

What you need to know

  • Apple is said to be three weeks behind schedule in terms of iPhone 14 Max production.
  • It's thought that Apple could be able to make that up by having people work overtime.
  • Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple's main concern this year won't be supply, but rather demand.

Ming-Chi Kuo has backed up a previous report suggesting that the new iPhone 14 Max is behind schedule in terms of production, but the analyst also suggests that won't be Apple's biggest issue with this year's launch.

Writing on Twitter, Kuo agreed with a previous report that iPhone 14 Max production is delayed by as many as three weeks thanks to recent factory closures. Shanghai COVID-19 lockdowns have hampered the production of various products, Apple's iPhone included.

However, Kuo believes that production is "still under control" and that "suppliers can work overtime to catch up" with the previous manufacturing schedule. That would suggest that, come September's expected launch window, things will be back on track.

Kuo then went on to say that he doesn't expect Apple's main issue to be supply this year, but rather the level of demand. Ongoing economic uncertainty around the globe could potentially cause the new range of iPhones to be a harder sell than in previous years, causing demand to be lower than anticipated. That, in turn, could of course help with any manufacturing issues Apple may be having come launch time.

Apple is expected to announce four new iPhones later this year; two with 6.1-inch screens and two with displays of 6.7 inches. Each screen size will get a Pro and non-Pro model, with the iPhone 14 Max being the non-Pro 6.7-inch offering. That device is expected to use older Apple silicon — the same as the current iPhone 13 — and sport a notch. The Pro models will ditch the notch for the first time and will surely be the best iPhones Apple has sold to date.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.