Apple Says Its Q1 2023 Earnings Would Have Been Better If Not For iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max Supply Disruptions

It’s been a year since the launch of Apple’s newest iPhone models, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Despite strong interest in the flagship devices, both models suffered supply disruptions that hurt Apple’s financial results in its first quarter of 2023.

At the close of the quarter, Apple reported 9% year-on-year growth in revenue, which was its 15th consecutive quarter of growth. However, the company suggested its performance would have been even better if not for the supply issues with the new iPhone models.

The issues primarily related to the complicated design for the two models. Achieving the specs suggested by Apple entailed an unusual arrangement of components with tight tolerances. This unavoidably caused some issues for manufacturers and supply chain disruptions for Apple.

The supply issues were compounded by the popularity of the models. Demand was significantly higher than expected and this further compounded the production and supply chain bottlenecks.

The disruption to the supply of iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max caused Apple to miss its projected sales targets for the first quarter of 2023. Despite this, Apple still managed a relatively strong quarter and has said it expects to fix the issues in the second quarter.

Having the supply issues in the quarter made the results a mixed bag for Apple. Despite weak iPhone sales, Mac sales were strong and the services segment saw a 20% year-on-year growth.

In the end, Apple said its first quarter performance could have been better if not for supply disruptions of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. This is largely due to the intricacies of the device’s design and the popularity of the models surpassing expectations. Moving forward, it remains to be seen how the quality and availability of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will impact Apple’s financials in the following quarter.