Things seem to be getting more and more complicated for Apple and the future of the iPhone 14 is starting to look more and more complicated, if not uncertain.

The problem has largely been a combination of factors that have been dragging on since 2019, where we have a current global shortage of components that is about to get even worse thanks to the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

In a very recent report, we already analyzed how everything indicates that the iPhone 14 would not integrate the A16 processor in all its future models due to causes derived from this global crisis.

And now an unexpected twist has just emerged where even the production of the current iPhone 13 could be at risk. All for a cause that for many already seemed left behind, but that is still present: SARS-CoV-2.

Foxconn closes crucial plant for Apple and the iPhone due to a resurgence of Covid-19
Colleagues at Asia Nikkei have just released a disturbing report revealing that Foxconn and other manufacturers are suspending part of their operations in the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen.

All after the authorities imposed a partial closure due to an increase in cases of Coronavirus Covid-19.

So the authorities ordered the closure of all those companies that provide services considered non-essential, inevitably impacting the Foxconn plant that is dedicated, among other things, to assembling Apple’s iPhone 13.

In addition to this closure measure, all citizens in this city of 17 million inhabitants must undergo a test to more accurately detect the number of cases of SARS-CoV-2 contagion in the entity.

The trigger for these measures was the appearance of more and more cases of infection. Only on Sunday, March 13, 2022, 60 new cases were detected.

A figure that sounds low and even optimistic for the parameters of any city in Latin America. But in China, the pandemic health measures and protocols are much more meticulous than here.

Foxconn is the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer. Its most important clients could be considered Apple and Samsung among many other companies in the IT industry.

So both companies would be affected, but they would not be the only ones. Both Huawei, Tencent and Oppo have their operational headquarters in the city of Shenzhen, so they will also see changes in their production and workflow.

For now, Foxconn has already confirmed that it will stop production at its factories in the Longhua and Guanlan communities until further notice.

The consequences of this move remain to be seen.