Nearly two months after Apple unveiled its iPhone 14 Plus, it’s reportedly pausing production on the new phone and reassessing the demand for it.
The new report published in The Information suggests Apple has asked at least one iPhone assembly partner to immediately halt iPhone 14 Plus production and contacted two component suppliers to lower production by up to 90%.
The report also says at least one iPhone supplier has been instructed to ramp up component production for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone Pro Max models.
If you’re not familiar with the iPhone 14 Plus, it was Apple’s replacement for its iPhone 13 Mini. The iPhone 14 Plus has all the benefits of a Pro’s size, at 6.7 inches, but without the extra features and heftier price tag.
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As for what may be causing its poor sales, many speculate it’s a result of the Pro and Pro Max not being that much more than the regular and Plus size models. The iPhone 14 Plus starts at $1,579, while the iPhone 14 Pro is $1,749 and iPhone 14 Pro Max is $1,899.
Available in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch sizes, both the Pro and Pro Max feature an Always-On display (for the first time ever on iPhone), a 48MP camera and a Dynamic Island that adapts in real-time to show important alerts, notifications and activities. If you’re going to buy a brand-new iPhone, you may as well spend $200 or $320 more for these features.
It’s not surprising, then, to hear that Bloomberg describes sales of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max as “robust”. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote on his blog that the tech giant had switched “production lines of the iPhone 14 to the iPhone 14 Pro models, which will help improve Apple’s product mix/iPhone ASP in 4Q22.”
Also at the Apple event showcase held in September, the company announced three new Apple Watches: Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch Ultra and Apple Watch SE; Airpods Pro 2nd-Generation and a new software iOS 16.
Apple hasn’t officially commented on the report.
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