For those who came in late, Apple released its iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max to a loud sounding yawn even from fanboys. The phones were reassuringly expensive but did not have much in the way of new features to make anyone think it was worth buying.

Apple pulled production on the phones and reduced its orders, and yet now is claiming that because of the Chinese Covid lockdowns iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments will be lower than the company's previous anticipation.

Apple said that COVID-19 restrictions have temporarily impacted the primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max assembly facility located in Zhengzhou, China. The facility is currently operating at significantly reduced capacity.

"As we have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prioritising the health and safety of the workers in our supply chain."

Jobs' Mob claims that Apple fanboys still love the Phone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max but there will be lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated and customers will experience longer wait times to receive new products.

The Tame Apple Press is doing its best to reinforce the line that the reason iPhone sales has slumped by a third is just because of Covid. But there were signs Apple was making production cuts long before the lockdown.

This explains the fact that Foxconn has insisted that it could boost production with other plants in order to compensate for the short fall, but for some reason did not. Probably because Apple didn't need the extra phones.