Compared to the series production that will begin this summer, the current stage aims to validate the design of the iPhone 14, Apple and selected partners for the manufacture of the new iPhone applying the latest tweaks, in order to maximize production volume.
Although at the time of launch, the iPhone 14 will seem like an absolutely new product to Apple fans, in reality, the design of the new Apple flagship began just before the current model came into the spotlight and ended months before the same fans thought of seriously to the next upgrade. Unlike other players in the smartphone market, Apple cannot simply develop and launch a new top of the range smartphone, hoping that everything will go according to plan and the finished product will reach the anticipated sales figures. Simply put, there is too much money in the middle, a “clumsiness” like the one that led to the Galaxy Note 7 withdrawal scandal, drawing the most serious consequences for the brand image and the future balance sheet addressed to Apple investors, in particular. Judging by the recent example of Meta, which by simply confirming the decline in Facebook users has triggered a catastrophic drop in the share price for the parent company, it is not too difficult to anticipate that a failed iPhone 14 launch, followed by a media scandal, could sink the shares of Apple as well.
In the meantime, what we can learn from the information obtained by sources is that Apple has reorganized the production of iPhone 14, assigning the Pro model to an unspecified OEM partner, while the former favorite manufacturer, Luxshare, will ensure only the production of the basic iPhone 14. all the more interesting to watch since Luxshare Precision Industry Co., an OEM manufacturer in China, offered the best prices for the manufacture of the current iPhone 13 Pro model. It can only be assumed that the decision was made to reduce Apple’s exposure to the effects of the global semiconductor crisis, but it could just as well be a matter of political criteria, with the prospect of further deteriorating US-China economic relations already leading to a real exodus of companies that in the past were attracted by the prospect of access to cheap labor.
Although it received its first iPhone 13 Pro assembly orders last year, the manufacturer Luxshare managed to attract only 3% of all orders in 2021.