Report: Apple supplier freezes hiring, shuts production line due to low demand for iPhone 6S

Apple’s newest iPhone, the 6S, is beautiful even if it does cost a fortune (see: the cost of an iPhone in days worked across Asia). But where the iPhone 6 set records last Christmas season, the 6S may not be able to follow. International analysts have recently been lowering their 6S sales estimates in response to the apparent lower-than-expected demand for the new smartphone.

Apple hasn’t released sales figures yet, but another worrying sign came out of China on Monday, with Chinese tech media reporting that an Apple supplier in Shanghai has frozen iPhone 6S-related hiring and shut down a production line to cut down on its 6S output. The factory in question is a Pegatron subsidiary called Changshuo, and an employee there supposedly told reporters that “because there hasn’t been enough work, a production line has been shut down, and everybody’s saying it’s because the iPhone 6S isn’t selling well enough.”

Whether you’re the type to believe that sort of anonymous source or not, there’s reason to be concerned for Apple. China is a hugely important market for the company’s iPhone sales these days, but China’s sales growth is likely to have slowed along with the rest of the country’s economy. Apple could be hit particularly hard given its status as a high-priced luxury – an iPhone 6S takes 19 days of work to earn on the average Chinese salary, so in economically tighter times some buyers may be choosing to pick up one of the many cheaper smartphone options on the market.

What do you think of the iPhone 6S?