iPhone 13 series will be difficult to purchase this yuletide season

Apple's biggest issue in the smartphone industry presently is the chip shortage that is affecting production. According to 9to5mac, as Christmas approaches, due to a shortage of chips, Apple’s iPhone and iPad had to stop production. This is the first time that Apple will have to pause production in over a decade. Although the company is not stopping the production of its latest iPhones (only old iPhones), there is no guarantee that the iPhone 13 series will be readily available. Thus, between now and January next year, the iPhone 13 series will probably be short in supply. Of course, this further implies that the iPhone 13 series will be difficult to purchase.

According to reports, Apple’s iPhone 13 production from September to October this year was about 20% behind its target. Apple was forced to lower the total production target of iPhone 13 from the initial 95 million units to 83 - 85 million units. In the past few months, the output of old iPhones is also dropping. According to reports, the old iPhone will drop by about 25%. Apple's goal this year is to produce 230 million iPhones in total.

Earlier, Nikkei pointed out in a report that the decline in iPhone and iPad production capacity is mainly related to peripheral components. This includes power management chips from Texas, transceivers from Anshi Semiconductor, and connection chips from Broadcom. Despite this, Apple is still putting pressure on its partners to re-accelerate iPhone production in November, December, and January next year. Apple has informed its suppliers to increase its iPhone shipment target in the first half of 2022 by 30%.

iPhone 13 still took Apple to No 1. spot in China

Even with limited production capacity, the iPhone 13 series is bringing in a lot of sales for Apple. The company is now the top smartphone brand in China. This is the first time in six years that Apple will hit the number one spot in the Chinese smartphone market. The latest report from Counterpoint Research, a market research agency, shows that Apple surpassed Vivo in October 2021 to become the largest smartphone manufacturer in the Chinese market. Driven by the iPhone 13 series, Apple's sales increased 46% month-on-month.

JPMorgan Chase has raised Apple's target stock price from $164 to $200. As of the close of the market on December 7, Apple's stock price rose 3.54% to a new high, with a market value of $288.4 billion.

Apple's financial report for the 2021 fiscal year fourth quarter (third quarter) shows that the company hit a revenue of $83.4 billion. This is an increase of 29% year on year. The company's profit for the quarter is $20.6 billion, an increase of 62% year-on-year. This is in line with market expectations. Apple's profit this fiscal year has hit $94.6 billion, far exceeding the previous record of$ 58.5 billion in 2018.