Apple slashes planned iPhone 12 mini production 

Apple is slashing its planned production of the iPhone 12 mini for the first half of this year as part of a broader adjustment to output plans it formulated late last year, Nikkei Asia has learned.

The US tech giant is cutting orders for all iPhones by around 20% compared to its plans in December, according to sources familiar with the matter, with the majority coming from the mini, its cheapest 5G-enabled phone. Late last year, Apple told suppliers to secure components and parts for up to 96 million handsets, including the entire iPhone 12 series - its first 5G-enabled lineup - for the first six months of 2021. The total also included older iPhone 11 and the iPhone SE models.

At one point, Apple even told some suppliers that it needed components for more than 100 million iPhones for the first half of the year in a bid to secure components and production capacity amid global shortages.

The company is now targeting production of around 75 million units - slightly higher than iPhone shipments in the same period last year. The company told suppliers that it still intends to build 230 million iPhones for 2021, an increase of more than 11% from last year, sources said.

The biggest revision is for components and parts for the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini, multiple sources said, which retails for around $699. Some suppliers were even asked to temporarily stop building components specifically for the mini, a source told Nikkei. The mildest estimate was that Apple will cut planned production by more than 70% for the six months through June.

"This year is still not bad, but of course demand for the first half of 2021 is not as high as people were thinking at the end of last year," another person told Nikkei.

The adjustment of production levels for the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max was comparatively mild and demand for those models remains relatively healthy, several people said.

"Some of the components and parts for the mini have been reallocated to the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max," said another person with direct knowledge of the matter.