Nikkei Asia, citing supply chain sources, claims Apple last month was only able to assemble “a few hundred units a day” of its upcoming foldable iPhone (also known as iPhone Ultra) due of the company’s extremely high quality control standards.
“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.
There have been several reports indicating Apple has faced several obstacles in producing the iPhone Ultra handsets, due to how difficult the device is to build. The hinge structure and display durability testing having been the principal hurdles to clear. Apple has ordered around 10 million units of the foldable iPhone, as it was believed that those issues had been resolved during trial production at Foxconn.
Unfortunately, the publication’s sources now claim that Apple carried out an additional verification process in August to ensure that the foldable iPhone 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 familiar with the matter told Nikkei.
These issues have apparently “pushed back commercial production for weeks,” indicating Apple could fall short of its production target unless it can ramp up production to an acceptable daily rate. Apple and its suppliers are said to be working “around the clock” to resolve the issues.
A previous report suggested the device could face a staggered market rollout, with initial availability limited to the US.
That said, Apple is still expected to unveil the “iPhone Ultra” alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Mac next Wednesday, September 9.
