Shoppers face shortages of iphones over Black Friday weekend

SHOPPERS are facing shortages of iphones over the Black Friday weekend as Apple reels from Covid lockdowns in China.

Analysts at Wedbush warned that demand for the new iphone 14 was “way ahead” of supply leading up to the key discount shopping period.

They added that major shortages would continue in the run-up to Christmas.

Apple is battling a significant slowdown in production after tough new Covid restrictions prompted shutdowns at its factories in China.

The tech giant has been plunged into fresh chaos by a huge riot at Foxconn’s flagship iphone factory in the country.

The unrest broke out at the plant in Zhengzhou after hundreds of workers marched out of their dormitories in a rare show of protest over working conditions and pay.

Foxconn has offered payouts of $1,400 (£1,155) to new staff members to leave the factory immediately in a desperate bid to end the unrest.

Wedbush said the Foxconn shutdowns had been a “major gut punch” to Apple this quarter and estimated it had taken around 5pc of iphone 14 units out of the supply chain.

The analysts said many Apple stores and retailers were already low on stocks of the iphone model and predicted that around 8m phones will be sold over the Black Friday weekend, down from 10m last year. They wrote: “If Zhengzhou remains at lower capacity over the next few weeks and continues to see the unrest build with workers, this would cause clear major iphone Pro shortages into the all-important Christmas time period especially in the US.”

The disruption means shoppers may struggle to get their hands on a new iphone ahead of Christmas, with many storage and colour options already limited.

Earlier this month Apple warned that customers would face longer waits for iphone 14 Pro models because of Covid outbreaks at the Foxconn factory.

Three million fewer iphone 14 handsets are expected to be produced this year than Apple had anticipated, sources told Bloomberg.