Apple iPhone 14 trial production underway, mass production to begin in August

We widely expect Apple to unveil the iPhone 14 in mid-September. Some speculators point to September 13 as the day of the announcement, but the Cupertino-based tech giant hasn’t confirmed that. However, news from China suggests that Apple has already started trial production of the iPhone 14.

Even better sales than last year are expected

Wall Street and other analysts disagree on how the iPhone 14 will sell. Some say their new flagship smartphone will perform even better than the iPhone 13. On the other hand, financial analyst Brian White predicts that the iPhone 14 could battle weak overall consumer spending in the fall.

Sources in China familiar with Apple’s own predictions and plans disagree. According to a recent report from Chinese outlet ITHome, Apple has started trial production of the iPhone 14. It plans to start mass production in August. Going further, the sources claim that Apple has informed its suppliers that they expect initial sales of the iPhone 14 to surpass those of the iPhone 13 a year ago.

The rationale lies in the fact that Apple is focusing on the high-end smartphone market. Even if inflation rises and major economies slip into recession, some say Apple will continue to dominate the smartphone industry in terms of sales.

These analysts believe that core commodity inflation, like that in food and fuel markets, has less of an impact on Apple’s relatively wealthier user base. They point out that while overall demand in the smartphone market has cooled, iPhone sales momentum remained strong throughout July.

iPhone 13 sales could actually exceed those of the previous year

Consumer spending on the iPhone often declines in July and August. People are waiting for the next model to start shipping. However, this year may be different. A source said iPhone 13 shipments in July were actually a third higher by a factory than last July.

Of course, this raises an important question. Are these higher production numbers due to higher demand, or was this factory simply compensating for the closure of another factory during China’s COVID-19 lockdowns? Obviously, it will take time to see how well Apple’s iPhone sales have fared during the usual summer downturn.

iPhone 14 trial production begins as planned

That said, we can take one thing from the reports. If Apple has really started trial production of the iPhone 14 (and we have no reason to doubt the news), it’s on schedule. Cupertino tends to start trial production in June or July, then mass production in August. This ensures that a sufficient supply is ready for a September launch.