The conflict in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia continue to affect a number of industries around the world.
The American company Apple plans to release about 20 percent less iPhone SE in the next quarter than originally planned. As the Japanese magazine Nikkei Asia notes, citing informed sources, such a decision by the tech giant is nothing more than one of the signs that the situation in Ukraine and the upcoming inflation are affecting the demand for electronics.
In addition to the iPhone SE, the recently introduced first budget smartphone with A15 Bionic processor and 5G support, the production of AirPods headphones will be reduced by more than ten million copies for the entire 2022 year. For comparison: in 2021, the company shipped about 76.8 million AirPods.
The release of the entire iPhone 13 lineup will also be cut by a couple of million pieces.
As the media notes, all this once again underlines the pressure on the technology industry after the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine. The conflict and the subsequent Western sanctions against Moscow have exacerbated the already existing shortage of chips, disrupting the supply chain and eventually affecting a number of industries — from smartphones to PCs and cars.
“Impending inflation may further increase the cost of living of people and creates concerns about the demand for consumer electronics,” the article says. Apple itself has suspended sales of its products in Russia since the beginning of March, despite the fact that last year it sold about five million iPhones on its market (16% of the total share).
Probably, the decision of Apple, the leader in consumer electronics, to reduce production volumes will cause a “chain reaction” in the market. The American corporation itself did not comment on this information.
The Ukrainian crisis and anti-Russian sanctions hit automakers earlier. So, the media reported that BMW and Volkswagen were forced to suspend the operation of factories in Europe due to a shortage of wiring harnesses that were supplied from Ukraine. Inflation has not spared Elon Musk: Tesla has raised the prices of its lithium energy storage and electric vehicles, and SpaceX has dramatically increased the cost of space flights.