Apple last month only managed to produce "a few hundred units a day" of its upcoming foldable iPhone because of the company's extremely high quality control standards, according to Nikkei Asia ($), citing supply chain sources.
From today's report:
"Production is ramping up slowly, with output currently at only a few hundred units a day in late August. That initial volume could be challenging to meet market demand," one supply chain manager with knowledge of the matter told Nikkei Asia.
Multiple reports have suggested the iPhone Ultra's production has faced hurdles because of how difficult the device is to build, with the hinge structure and display durability testing having been the principal bottlenecks. Those issues were thought to have been resolved during trial production at Foxconn, with Apple subsequently raising its order to around 10 million units, up from 7-8 million units for the year, Nikkei previously reported.
But the publication's sources now claim that Apple carried out an additional verification process in August for the foldable iPhone to make sure it can be mass-produced according to its specified design. "The surface flatness and the performance of the hinge are among the details where Apple is asking for better production yields," a person with knowledge of the matter told Nikkei.
All of this has apparently "pushed back commercial production for weeks," suggesting Apple could fall short of its production target unless it can ramp up output more quickly. Apple and its suppliers are said to be working "around the clock" to ramp up production and avoid limited stocks at distribution centers.
It sounds like timing couldn't be tighter for Apple's foldable. A previous report even suggested the device could face a staggered market launch, with availability initially limited to the U.S.
However things pan out, Apple is still expected to unveil the iPhone Ultra alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max on Wednesday, September 9 at the company's "Surprise and shine" event. For everything we know about the device, be sure to check out our latest roundup.
