Apple scaling back iPhone 6s production

Reduced production will continue through the January-March period, as retailers will be expected to use their current inventories to reduce the stockpile of iPhone’s, before inventories are expected to return to normal during the April-June period.

On a historical note, the Cupertino-based tech giant also cut iPhone production back in 2013, which led to Apple-dependent parts suppliers struggling to get through a several month production hiatus.

Meanwhile, investment firm Morgan Stanley attributed a decline in sales at the end of previous year to higher prices in foreign markets due to fluctuations in currency values.

According to MyDrivers, the iPhone 7 Plus – which will be the larger phablet variant of the iPhone 7 – will have a 256GB inbuilt memory variant, a first for Apple.

Customers hold the iPhone 6s during the official launch at the Apple store in central Sydney, Australia, September 25, 2015.

Despite a holiday shopping season that saw Apple break records for apps and in-app purchases, the company is reportedly seeing a slower short-term market for some members of its iPhone family.

That said, its near-term pain for long-term gain as the eye on the prize is around iPhone 7 later this year, Ives said.

But Munster added that suppliers and production cuts have historically had little correlation to actual reported units, and that Apple’s own December guidance is still the best read on overall iPhone sales.

Even before the new year rolled in many analysts had started predicting that perhaps the iPhone could see its first sales decline in years, and perhaps they might be proven right.

In China’s Henan province, the Zhengzhou capital city government said in a statement on its website this week it had awarded 82-million yuan ($12.53m) in subsidies to companies under Foxconn, a major iPhone assembler.

It said stocks of the 6s were piling up with retailers, particularly in developed smartphone markets like Europe and China.