Apple suppliers in China have reportedly fallen behind schedule in preparing their manufacturing process for this year’s new iPhone 14 series, with a new report by Nikkei Asia (via MacRumors) claiming that Apple is now hurrying factories to avoid a potential knock-on effect to production volumes when mass production begins in the coming months.
According to the report, at least one new iPhone 14 model has fallen behind schedule due to disruptions from COVID-19 lockdowns in China, with sources saying “It is challenging to make up for the lost time.”
The delay is said to be with the internal development of the manufacturing process for the iPhone 14 series. Suppliers are required to introduce new production methods and adapt existing production lines as part of a process called New Product Introduction (NPI), reports Nikkei. “NPI is followed by a series of verification processes carried out on a tight schedule to meet Apple’s desired timing for mass production, from around the end of August each year.”
Apple is widely rumored to be dropping the 5.4-inch ‘mini’ iPhone from its lineup this year, replacing the model with a large 6.7-inch non-Pro iPhone for the first time.
Last month we saw alleged real-world iPhone 14 display panels leak online, showing the rumored pill-shape and circular display cutouts, which will replace the traditional notch to house the front-facing camera and Face ID system on this year’s new iPhone models.
In March we saw alleged iPhone 14 Pro 3D CAD renders leak that showed the device’s rumored new pill-shape and circular display cutouts that are expected to house the iPhone’s Face ID components and front-facing camera module, removing the rectangular notch from the top of the device’s display.
We then saw later that same month rumored iPhone 14 CAD renders appear online which suggested the new pill-shape and circular display cutouts seen in the earlier leak out remain exclusive to the high-end ‘Pro’ and ‘Pro Max’ models, with the overall physical design expected to remain very similar to the existing iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro.
Concept Image: iClarified