iPhone 14 launch could be delayed as China places new COVID-19 lockdown restrictions

The iPhone 14 is expected to launch globally sometime in September 2022 and ahead of that, Apple’s contract manufacturers are facing new difficulties in China. The COVID-19 situation is still at large in China and hence, the local authorities resort to lockdowns from time to time to get the situation under control. The latest closed loop lockdown by Chinese authorities has now been implemented on the iPhone factory in Shenzhen for a period of 7 days to curb the COVID-19 infections.

The closed loop lockdown will still allow the factory to operate but with several restrictions implemented. Those living on-site will be allowed to carry on with their business whereas those coming from outside won’t be permitted. The Bloomberg report says that the Chinese authorities have asked 100 companies to “restrict operations only to employees living within a closed loop or bubble, with little to no contact with people beyond their plants or offices. Authorities also asked companies to reduce unnecessary interaction between non-manufacturing staff and factory floors to reduce infection.”

Apple factory under lockdown ahead of iPhone 14 planned production

The lockdown comes at a time when Apple is rumored to kickstart commercial production of the iPhone 14 models ahead of their expected launch in September 2022. Lockdowns could result in delay and it could eventually lead Apple to postpone the launch to a later month, just how it did with the iPhone 12 back in 2020.

Foxconn, however, says that the operations at the Shenzhen factory remained normal despite the lockdown in place. Hence, there is a hope to see Apple managing to get the iPhone 14 series ready in time for a September launch event.

The iPhone 14 series is going to oversee a big change compared to the outgoing iPhone 13 generation. There will be a new 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Max to replace the iPhone 13 Mini. However, these vanilla models will use the older A15 Bionic chip and offer little upgrades over the iPhone 13 duo. Apple is also expected to bump up the prices owing to rising costs in the supply chain. The iPhone 14 Pro is also expected to ditch the display notch and gain a new high resolution 48MP main camera.