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Mar. 20 (NBD) -- Apple has limited online iPhone purchases to two devices per model per person in many countries including the U.S. and China, according to an announcement on its website Thursday.

The restriction applies to the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Max and iPad Pro models.

Disruption in the manufacturing sector is one major reason leading to the purchase limit, says an industry expert to media outlet 36Kr.

Although Apple's largest assembler Foxconn has resumed production, it still takes time to increase the capacity to the level before the epidemic. The iPhone assembler expects to resume 80 percent of its production in mainland China by the end of March.

But judging from the current status, that goal may have to be postponed to June at the earliest, according to a supply chain source.Labor shortage is a big headache now facing Foxconn. There is still a wide job opening to fill despite that the company has offered high bonuses to attact new workers, in that many of those coming for bonuses will end up leaving due to the work intensity.

Supply chain issue is another big concern. The epidemic has affected the production of many upstream suppliers, leading to the shortage of some key parts and then hampering the iPhone production.

Other suppliers and operations of Apple in other countries including Malaysia, Italy and South Korea have also been hammered by the virus. For example, in Malaysia, where a two-week lockdown has been announced to slow the spread of the virus, the iPhone maker's chip and circuit boards suppliers Murata Manufacturing Co., Renesas Electronics Corp. and Ibiden Co. have already halted production. 

Also because of the disruption in manufacturing, Apple has pushed back the 5G iPhone release by a month, and the mass production of the low-cost iPhones has also been deferred.  

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn