Despite claims from industry analysts that iPhone SE and AirPods 3 production orders have been cut due to weak demand, companies in Apple’s supply chain say they have not received any instructions to make cuts in the production of either product.
Analysts recently reported that Apple has been faced with weak demand for the new iPhone SE, with some estimating that production of the handset has been cut by as much as three million phones. Meanwhile, Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said that demand for AirPods 3 is “significantly lower” than for the previous model, curing orders by up to 30%.
However, a new report from DigiTimes says Taiwan-based component manufacturers have told the publication that they haven’t cut production. The publication, citing unnamed sources, says the suppliers say they haven’t received any instructions about revising orders.
There is a possibility that analysts were learning of Apple’s plans before the company implemented them. However, the first reports of cuts came back on March 22. It is also possible that Apple is just moving orders around to other manufacturers.
It should be noted that while DigiTimes isn’t completely reliable when it comes to predicting Apple’s plans for device production. However, it has a better record when it comes to supply chain sources. We’ll keep an eye out for further confirmation and report in this space.