Customers have been waiting for a month for delivery of iPhone’s latest models, the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, due to high demand and low supply, retailers said.
Apple said on its website on November 7 (Vietnam time): “We continue to see strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models. However, we now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated and customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products.”
According to the U.S. firm, Covid-19 restrictions have temporarily impacted its primary phone assembly facility in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou.
Phung Phuong of Mobile Vietnam said Pro and 14 Pro Max supply only met 20% of demand in the country. Nguyen Huu Phuc of Minh Tuan Mobile said there is no plan or schedule for the next batch of deliveries to customers.
Quoc Thien of the central city of Da Nang ordered a purple 128 GB Pro Max in mid-October and was told it would be delivered in two weeks. The store then rescheduled the delivery to early November, but Thien did not receive it then, and has not heard about the new delivery date either.
Diem Ai in HCMC’s Go Vap District said she urgently needed to buy 20 Pro Max phones to gift, but no store could supply them though she was willing to pay extra.
Pham Tuan Anh of ShopDunk said hundreds of customers who have ordered the purple Pro Max with 128 or 256 GB are waiting for delivery, but phones in other colors and with larger capacities are available.
The Pro and 14 Pro Max cost VND28.9-32.5 million (US$1,165-1,310). The purple version costs an additional VND1 million ($40).
In contrast, the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, also released in mid-October, are widely available.
Retailers said sales of the two models account for less than 5% of total iPhone 14 sales.