Taiwan's telecom and channel operators are to face short supply of the iPhone 12 lineup when they begin to deliver the devices to pre-registered consumers on October 24, with market sources saying that the shortfalls are likely to be solved within two weeks.
Strong replacement demand, pandemic-induced decreased supplies and distribution priority have compounded to intensify the shortages of the new iPhones at their initial offerings, said the sources.
Telecom and channel operators both have received less quotas for 2020 iPhones, seeing reductions by 10-15% on average as compared to those for iPhone 11 at launch last year, said the sources.
The supply of the new iPhones is tight currently as the assembly of related devices was delayed due to labor shortages caused by the pandemic, and the production speeds and yield rates have yet to be further improved, noted the sources.
However, some sources pointed out that Apple has improved its logistics schedules by shortening the cycle of shipments and allowing its distributors to received new products every week.
On the supply side, iPhone's major assemblers, including Foxconn Electronics and Pegatron, reportedly are handling out handsome pays in order to recruit more employees at their major production plants in China to accelerate production.
Article translated by Steve Shen
