When Apple announced financial results for the January-March quarter, it warned that a new round of Covid-19 lockdowns in China could disrupt the supply chain, and now a United Daily News report (via MacRumors) says the Cupertino giant has started making preparations for the iPhone 14 range earlier than usual to ensure the launch is not delayed.
Apple supplier Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, suspended operations for a few days in March after the Chinese government imposed a lockdown in Shenzhen. In April, some areas near the company’s main iPhone manufacturing base in Zhengzhou were locked down, though operations remained unaffected.
Presumably to offset the effects of any future lockdowns, Apple has asked Foxconn to start hiring workers and it is now on a recruiting spree. This is usually the off-season and in order to meet Apple’s requirements, Foxconn has apparently increased the bonus by 30 percent.
In addition to ensuring timely release of the iPhone 14 series, these steps will also help Apple keep iPhone 13 series production on track, which continues to do well.
DigiTimes recently reported that the resurgence of Covid in China could severely affect some parts of Apple’s supply chain and that this may make the company delay the launch of the iPhone 14 range, which is expected in September.
Apple had to push back the launch of the iPhone 12 line by more than a month due to the pandemic, and the release was also staggered. Despite that, the new phones quickly became the most popular 5G handset of the year.
