Recent reports of Apple cutting iPhone 12 mini production to increase manufacturing capacity for the more popular iPhone 12 Pro were corroborated on Friday by DigiTimes, citing supply chain sources.
Today's report suggests that Apple's smallest iPhone 12 model was launched to target the U.S. and European markets, but the global health crisis has impacted sales in these territories, leading to a slowdown in iPhone 12 mini orders.
Pegatron has seen a slowdown in orders for the iPhone 12 mini as sales of the model in the US and Europe are affected negatively by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to industry sources.
The sources pointed out that the iPhone 12 mini is targeting mainly consumers in the US and Europe, but overall smartphone sales there have been significantly undermined by the pandemic.
The report suggests that strong demand for iPhone 12 Pro models in China has led Apple to strengthen its supply of the more expensive devices in response. The East Asian market historically favors larger form factor devices, and China has not been seriously impacted by the pandemic in recent months compared to other parts of the world.
Pegatron is the main producer of the iPhone 12 mini, and the above factors have combined to reduce demand for the device at the Taiwanese manufacturer's expense.
On Wednesday, a Morgan Stanley investment note claimed that Apple has shifted production away from the iPhone 12 mini for the first quarter of 2021, in an effort to combat continuing lead times for the more popular iPhone 12 Pro.
The note supported previous analysis that the iPhone 12 mini has suffered from lackluster sales, capturing just six percent of the total iPhone 12 sales during the launch period, despite broad satisfaction reported by owners of the smaller device.
Meanwhile, a separate DigiTimes report today indicates that Foxconn expects to see increased momentum in the first quarter of this year, thanks to Apple increasing orders of the iPhone 12 Pro models.
In a more positive note for Apple, the popularity of its Pro devices in China have reportedly eaten into Huawei's dominant market share in the region:
Huawei, the largest smartphone brand in China, has seen its smartphone sales being bitten off by Apple's Pro series products in the past few months with Apple now the second largest 5G handset brand globally, behind only Huawei, the sources said.
