Apple 'to make 96 million iPhones in the first six months of 2021'  

Apple CEO Tim Cook: iPhone revenue is expected to hit €48.6bn in the first quarter of next year.

Apple plans to manufacture up to 96m iPhones in the first half of 2021, a nearly 30% year-on-year increase owing to strong demand for its 5G handsets. 

It has asked suppliers to produce about 95m to 96m iPhones, including the latest iPhone 12 range as well as older iPhone 11 and SE models, but an industrywide shortage of key components could threaten the target, according to a report by Nikkei.  

The company plans to build up to 230m iPhones next year, a 20% rise from 2019, though the target will be regularly reviewed and revised in response to consumer demand, it reported.

Apple has been fighting for several years to become less dependent on the iPhone, which contributed almost 41% of overall sales during the last quarter, as new markets and demand for handsets began to peak after a decade of spectacular growth. Apple in October said a delayed launch for its 5G iPhones put off customers from buying new devices, adding it expected single-digit iPhone revenue growth in its current quarter.

Analysts expect iPhone revenue to rise 5.8% to $59.19bn (€48.6bn) in the first quarter. 

The company is currently working on a new Apple TV model and preparing an aggressive 2021 production schedule for its MacBook Pro and iMac Pro, according to Nikkei’s report.

Meanwhile, analysts said Apple's effort to expand the manufacturing of its products in India ran into trouble after workers at a supplier’s plant rioted over unpaid wages on Sunday. 

Hundreds of workers stormed the contractor Wistron’s facility in the southern city of Kolar, damaging the property and looting thousands of iPhones and laptops. More than 150 people were arrested. The protests at Wistron were sparked on December 12 as workers stormed the facility because they hadn’t been paid, according to the media reports. So many people were arrested that they overwhelmed Kolar’s jail and some were sent elsewhere, the local superintendent of police said.

Wistron estimated damages at as much as $7.1m and said it’s doing its best to resume operations at the factory. The Taiwan-based company has said the protesters are not its own workers, suggesting they may have been hired by employment agencies, though it’s not clear who is responsible for paying them. 

Broader challenge 

The clash is part of a broader geopolitical challenge for Apple, the most valuable company in the world with a market capitalisation of $2 trillion. It has long had its iPhones and iPads made in China by contractors such as Wistron and Hon Hai Precision Industry but the political tensions between China and the US have raised the risks of dependence on a single production base.

In addition, India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has pushed policies to build its own manufacturing base, aimed at creating good-paying jobs for workers. 

This year, Apple’s iPhone assemblers were among the companies on track to win approval to participate in a $6.6bn stimulus programme. 

“Apple needs India,” said Navkendar Singh, a research director at IDC. 

India needs Apple to showcase to the world that if Apple can make things here so can others.

Meanwhile, another Apple supplier, Pegatron Corp., said it will start its India plant on schedule in 2021.