All four iPhone 14 models will be ready for preorders on Friday in the US, China, India, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and more than 30 other markets.
Apple’s fall launch event kick-started the fourth quarter, which is normally when the company reaches its highest sales thanks to new iPhones and a holiday season boost.
However, ongoing supply chain constraints, particularly in China – Apple’s main manufacturing hub – cast a long shadow on the quarter.
“Launching three new core hardware products within the Apple ecosystem despite the biggest supply chain crisis seen in modern history is a major feat for Apple, especially with the zero-Covid shutdowns in China seen in April/May,” Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities said in a note Wednesday.
The new iPhone models vary by screen size and features: the 6.1-inch iPhone 14, the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus, the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
The iPhone 14 starts at US$799, the same starting price as iPhone 13 when it launched last year, while the iPhone 14 Plus starts at $899. All US models of the new iPhone 14 will no longer have the SIM tray as a digital eSim card will replace physical sim cards for better security.
The more expensive iPhone 14 Pro models feature the A16 Bionic chip, the “fastest smartphone chip ever,” the company said. The upgraded chip enables the Pro and Pro Max longer battery life and a higher resolution camera. The iPhone 14 Pro starts at US$999 and iPhone 14 Pro Max will start at US$1,099.
While the iPhone 14, Pro and Pro Max will begin shipping on Sept 16, the iPhone 14 Plus will not ship until Oct 7.
Apple also unveiled the AirPods Pro with better noise-cancelling, the latest Apple Watch Series 8, and an update to the lower-cost model Apple Watch SE. It also introduced Apple Watch Ultra, a new model for extreme sports.
Apple Watch Series 8 and SE will start shipping on Sept 16, while the Ultra and AirPods Pro 2 will be available on Sept 23.
Supply chain constraints hit Apple’s revenue by about US$4 billion in the April-June quarter, mostly due to factory shutdowns in China under strict zero-Covid restrictions.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said on Apple’s latest earnings call in July that the impact of supply chain constraints on revenue “for the September quarter will be less than they were in the June quarter”, as the company was “optimistic” Covid-19 restrictions in China would ease.
However, a series of heatwaves last month shut down many Apple suppliers’ factories in central China, including Chengdu. The company now faces an indefinite lockdown in the Chinese city of Chengdu, a production hub for iPads and MacBooks, threatening to bring fresh supply chain disruptions.
Suppliers in Shenzhen, another production hub, have already struggled with staff shortages brought on by strict Covid-19 restrictions affecting several districts in the city, Nikkei Asia reported.
Apple shares rose nearly 1% Wednesday, closing at US$155.96.