Apple has reportedly appointed Taiwanese manufacturing giant, Foxconn, the main contractor for its most affordable 2018 handset – the ‘iPhone XR’ – in a bid to prevent device shortages.

According to trade publication DigiTimes, Apple initially pledged 30% of its iPhone XR contract to Foxconn, with 50% – 60% given to Pegatron.

Recent reports claim Apple has moved orders to Foxconn, citing component delays and capacity bottlenecks.

Pegatron is reportedly now fulfilling less than 30% of iPhone XR production, with reports alleging it struggled to keep yields high enough.

Insiders claim the supply of LCD panels from Japan Display (JDI) have also “not been steady”.

As previously reported, commentators claim iPhone XR production issues are the reason why the handset is releasing nearly a month after the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.

Analysts question whether the supplier change will alleviate production bottlenecks, and avoid potential device shortages.