"That the firm's iPhone production plans are being revised lower suggests that the global macroeconomic weakness is impacting even high-end consumers, those that are more likely to buy Apple's expensive gadgets, and that no market segment will be spared in this global downturn," wrote Craig Berger, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets, an investment bank.

The forecast is significantly more pessimistic than Berger's earlier prediction, announced last month, that Apple will cut its iPhone production by 10 percent.

As a result of the expected production cut, Berger said key component suppliers, including Broadcom, Marvell, and Infineon, among others, will see lower revenue during the period.

The pessimistic report drew flak from some Apple watchers, including Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt, who panned the forecast in a titled, "The Apple analyst who couldn’t shoot straight."

"Sounds pretty scary. But perhaps best taken with a grain of salt, given Berger’s track record with Apple," he wrote.