14 DAY TRIAL // Plans for a rumored 13-inch iPad that was said to go into production late this year for an early-2015 launch have been put on hold at Apple, as the company wants assemblers to focus on manufacturing as many iPhone 6 Plus units as possible.
Reports from the Far East have indicated on several occasions that demand for the bigger iPhone has been unexpectedly high. Especially around those parts. The Chinese seem to be favoring the 5.5-inch display over the 4.7-inch version.
Millions of reservations with pre-orders yet to go live
It’s really not surprising that Apple will again face production hurdles, considering the reports coming out of China. According to local media, as many as four million iPhone 6 reservations have been recorded by retailers and operators who jumped the gun and started pre-launch sales 10 days early (on the 1st of October).
In a press release at the end of September, Apple announced that Chinese customers would be able to start pre-ordering on October 10. The actual launch was (and still is) scheduled for October 17.
With well over 10 million units sold in the first batch of countries and an additional four million (at least) from the Far East, it will take herculean efforts to stay on top of demand.
iPad Pro / Plus gets delayed
To cope with the situation, Apple has ordered its Chinese factories to halt any activity involving the rumored 13-inch iPad and focus solely on producing as many iPhone 6 Pluses as they can. The news comes from the subscription-based Wall Street Journal.
The key takeaway from the report: “The top priority for the supply chain is to meet the overwhelming demand for the larger screen iPhones. The output of the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus remains unsatisfactory,” says one person at a supplier. “It would be challenging for display makers to split resources and spend a few months to ramp up production for a new larger screen iPad now.”
The WSJ hasn’t been spot-on lately, but there’s no reason to assume that this tidbit is erroneous. In all fairness, Apple has always had a problem keeping up with demand, and the first step in overcoming these roadblocks has always been to increase yield rates at display manufacturing plants. It makes sense for the company to shift focus on the product that’s already selling in the millions.
For those of you eagerly anticipating an iPad announcement, next week promises to yield a new iPad Air with a slimmer body, small design alterations, and faster electronics.