Apple Not Expecting Drop in iPhone Demand, Asks Suppliers to Make 90 Million iPhone 14 Units

Apple is not anticipating a drop in iPhone sales in 2022 amid an overall smartphone market slowdown, reports Bloomberg. The Cupertino company is expecting continued strong demand for the iPhone and has asked suppliers to make 90 million iPhone 14 models, which is on par with iPhone 13 manufacturing in the same time period last year.

Apple is expecting to manufacture approximately 220 million iPhones in total in 2022, which is in line with 2021 manufacturing. Sources that spoke to Bloomberg said that Apple is able to weather a downturn in the smartphone market because the Apple customer base is still willing to spend money on premium devices.

Prior to 2021, new iPhone launches saw Apple manufacturing around 75 million devices. That was bumped up to 90 million in 2021 as the company anticipated high demand for the iPhone 13 models, and Apple is sticking with that target level for 2022.

While few changes are expected for the standard iPhone 14 models, the higher-end iPhone 14 Pro models will feature a new notchless design (with hole-punch and pill-shaped camera cutouts), an upgraded 48-megapixel camera, a faster A16 chip, an always-on display, and more.

Current rumors suggest that the iPhone 14 Pro models could have a higher starting price than the iPhone 13 Pro models, increasing the average selling price of iPhones in 2022. Apple has not provided revenue guidance since 2020, but Apple CFO Luca Maestri said during the company's second quarter earnings call that revenue growth is expected to accelerate in the September quarter, and supply constraints are expected to be lower than they were in the June quarter.