Apple is reportedly planning to cut the production of the iPhone 12 mini by 70 percent or more in the first half of this year, the media reported on Wednesday.
The tech giant is also cutting orders for all iPhones by around 20 percent compared to its plans in December, “with the majority coming from the mini, its cheapest 5G-enabled phone,” reports Nikkei Asia.
Last year, Apple told suppliers to secure components and parts for up to 96 million handsets, including the entire iPhone 12 series — its first 5G-enabled lineup — for the first six months of 2021. The total also included older iPhone 11 and the iPhone SE models, the report said.
At one point, Apple even told some suppliers that it needed components for more than 100 million iPhones for the first half of the year in a bid to secure components and production capacity amid global shortages.
The company is now targeting production of around 75 million units — slightly higher than iPhone shipments in the same period last year.
The company told suppliers that it still intends to build 230 million iPhones for 2021, an increase of more than 11 per cent from last year, sources said.
Recently, multiple reports based on the new forecast note by JP Morgan Chase indicated that Apple may consider halting its production of iPhone 12 mini in the second quarter this year due to poor demand.
JP Morgan Chase supply chain analyst William Yang adjusted his forecast for the current iPhone 12 series and the next-generation iPhone series, expected to be launched in the second half of 2021.
According to him, “given that demand for the iPhone 12 mini seems to be weak, the supply chain may stop production of the phone in the second quarter of 2021”.
The analyst, however, raised the iPhone 12 Pro Max sales forecast by 11 million units, iPhone 12 Pro by 2 million units, and iPhone 11 by 8 million units.
