We live in times where certainty and reliability can be hard to come by, so it’s reassuring to hear that there is something we can (probably) be sure of later in the year: being able to get hold of an iPhone 14 when the phone launches.
As per Bloomberg (opens in new tab), Apple is asking supply chain partners to make at least 90 million units of its flagship 2022 smartphone, which is in line with previous years. In other words, the company isn’t slowing down when it comes to iPhone production.
Throughout the course of the year there’s been speculation that the ongoing pandemic might mean that the iPhone 14 models would be in short supply due to lockdowns and other knock-on effects – but that no longer seems to be the case.
A lot of iPhones
According to Bloomberg’s sources, Apple is confident that the spending power of its fans and the popularity of the iPhone versus its competitors will be enough to keep demand high – hence the order for tens of millions of handsets.
In total, with the iPhone 13 and iPhone SE 2022 factored in as well, the company is apparently on track to make 220 million iPhones throughout the course of this year. That’s more or less in line with last year too.
Provided there are no bumps along the road, we should see four iPhone 14 variations make an appearance sometime in September this year. Back in February we got a report that production on the phone was already underway.
Analysis: will the iPhone 14 offer enough?
Demand for the iPhone has remained strong even through turbulent economic times, and even when new models of the smartphone haven’t offered all that much that’s different compared with the models that they’re coming in to replace.
The signs are that the iPhone 14 will be another incremental upgrade, although there will be a new model on show: the larger iPhone 14 Max is expected to replace the iPhone 13 mini, with sales of the more compact phone not as strong as the others.
We have seen rumors that the Pro models could be ditching the notch this time around, but there’s a good chance that the notch will stay for another generation at least. The iPhone 14 will also have ports, despite moves towards a portless design.
More than one source has said that the non-Pro iPhone 14 models will stick with the A15 Bionic processor that sits inside the iPhone 13 handsets – so don’t expect a massive performance upgrade from the flagship Apple devices this time around either.