Apple Cuts iPhone 12 Mini Production... Orders Some Parts Suppliers to Halt Manufacturing

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Joselgina] Apple has decided to reduce its iPhone production scale for the first half of this year by 20% from the original plan, focusing on the iPhone 12 mini.

According to Nikkei Asia on the 11th, Apple recently communicated this 2021 first-half production plan to its major suppliers. At the end of December last year, Apple had instructed securing parts for up to 96 million units including the iPhone 12 series for the first half of this year, but this was reduced to around 75 million units.

Among the detailed models, the production cut for the iPhone 12 mini was the largest. Some parts suppliers were even asked by Apple to temporarily halt parts production. This is a consequence of weaker-than-expected demand for the iPhone 12 mini. The iPhone 12 mini, equipped with a 5.4-inch display, is criticized for having a small screen and relatively insufficient battery capacity, resulting in lower competitiveness.

An industry insider said, "Demand in the first half of this year is not as high as people initially expected." Another insider explained, "Some parts for the iPhone 12 mini have been reallocated to the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max." Unlike the sluggish iPhone 12 mini, Nikkei Asia added that demand for the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max is relatively steady. As of the end of last year, the mini model accounted for about 10-15% of orders in the iPhone 12 series.

However, Apple forecasted that it will produce 230 million iPhones for the entire year, an 11% increase compared to the previous year. According to market research firm IDC, the global shipment volume of iPhones in the first half of last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic fully spread, was recorded at 74.3 million units.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.