Apple cuts production on all three new iPhone models

Apple suppliers are yet again feeling the squeeze, after the tech giant is said to have cut production orders for a third time in recent weeks.

Lower-than-expected demand for Apple's three new iPhone models, the XS, XS Max and XR, has made it difficult for the company to accurately anticipate how many phones to produce, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal.

Apple's shares fell more than two per cent as markets opened in New York this afternoon.

The news comes after Lumentum Holdings, a supplier of 3D sensors used in iPhone facial recognition technology, cut its 2018 financial guidance last week due to a fall in orders from an unnamed major customer. Suspecting that this customer may be Apple, investors' reaction to the news caused the tech giant's market value fall $50bn (£38.9bn) in a single day.

It was also reported at the beginning of this month that Apple told two of its smartphone manufacturers to stand down on plans for additional production lines for the iPhone XR.

Apple surprised the market in October with a reduced forecast for the upcoming festive quarter, predicting lower-than-expected sales of its iPhone and iPad products. Chief executive Tim Cook attributed this drop to an inability to meet the demand for its new products, among other issues.

The firm is said to have cut its production plan for the iPhone XR by up to a third of the almost 70m units some suppliers had been contracted to produce between its release in September and February, the Journal reported.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.