Apple Inc. has told its suppliers to speed up iPhone development after China’s strict COVID-19 lockdowns messed up the schedule for at least one of the new phones, Nikkei reported Wednesday, citing multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.
Pegatron Corp’s zero-COVID policy led to lockdowns at Pegatron Corp’s Shanghai and Kunshan plants, so the company stopped making iPhones there earlier this year.
The city-wide lockdown in Shanghai, which is now in its seventh week, has mostly stopped the city from functioning, while Beijing has stepped up its efforts to quarantine.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) said last month that it would have more problems because the COVID-19 lockdowns were slowing down production and demand in China. The war in Ukraine is also making things worse for the company that makes the iPhone.
The Nikkei business daily said that in the worst case, Apple expects the schedule for making the new phones and the first batch of phones to be affected.
Foxconn didn’t want to say anything about it, and Apple and Pegatron didn’t answer when Reuters asked them to.
China’s restrictions have slowed down the development of Apple’s iPhone – Nikkei
