Apple has reportedly ordered a large number of older model iPhone models while reallocating iPad parts to make up for iPhone 12 Pro shortages.
Nikkei Asia Review says demand for new iPhones, the iPhone 12 Pro, in particular, has been better than expected, and Apple is facing supply constraints for specific parts, including power chips and LiDAR components.
The report claims Apple is reallocating components intended for iPad models to the iPhone 12 Pro, in an effort to reprioritize iPhone supplies.
“That has affected around 2 million units in overall iPad production compared with its previous production plan for this year,” one of Nikkei’s sources said.
To fill the empty space on shelves, Apple has asked suppliers to prepare more than 20 million units of iPhone 11, iPhone SE and iPhone XR handsets from October through the year-end for holiday shopping season and early next year. That is equivalent to more than a quarter of the orders Apple placed for the new iPhone 12 series this year, which is around 75 million to 80 million units, people who have direct knowledge of the matter told Nikkei Asia.
The report also claims that the orders for the iPhone 11 and the iPhone SE are close to around ten million units each and both are performing much better than expected with consumers.
As of Wednesday, iPhone 12 Pro 128 GB model in graphite waiting times were 20 days in the U.S. market if ordering online, the same model in the Chinese market has a waiting time of two to three weeks.