Ramping Up for iPhone 14

Amid Slowing Smartphone Market, Apple Reportedly Raises iPhone 14 Orders

09 AUGUST 2022 - A slowing smartphone market does not seem to be slowing Apple. In fact, a piece from Taiwan’s United Daily News says the Cupertino-company has increased orders for the first round of iPhone 14s from 90-million units to 95-million.

Working from a machine translation of the UDN article, the piece drives home iPhone’s uptick while other phone makers are feeling down. “At a time when non-Apple phones are generally facing inventory adjustment,” the translation says, “Apple expands the stock of new iPhone 14 series, which will make TSMC's high-end process order acceptance continue to flourish.”

Yeah - it’s good for TSMC and good for Foxconn, assuming Foxconn can hire the people it needs. The UDN report indicates that the OEM has again this week increased its recruitment pay for the iPhone City facility in Zhengzhou. That seems to have been an ongoing thing. We first heard of Zhengzhou hiring sprees for the next round of iPhones all the way back in May. UDN says the increased hiring indicates that iPhone 14 mass production is imminent.

“Lights! Camera! Waiting!”

This time of year, we don’t really need more indication that new iPhones are coming soon. Doesn’t mean we don’t get it. Over the weekend, The Mac Observer observed a note from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. “In his latest Power On newsletter,” the piece had Wonder Mark saying that Apple has “started production of its September media event.” Indications are that the keynote will be 100% pre-recorded, as such things have been since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gurman says Apple will push play on the keynote in the first half of September, which will come as a shock to no one.