14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is projected to take the wraps off new iPhones in the fall, as it does every year, but due to the coronavirus outbreak hitting all countries across the world, the company is expected to agree with a more or less substantial delay.
In other words, the iPhone 12 might arrive later than usual, and now people familiar with the matter claim that in the worst case scenario, the new model could even launch in 2021.
A report from Japanese blog Nikkei reveals that Apple is worried that the risk of infection could actually affect sales of the new iPhone, which for the company would be a tragedy given it’s expect to be the first iPhone in history with 5G support.
“Supply chain constraint aside, Apple is concerned that the current situation would significantly lower consumer appetite to upgrade their phones, which could lead to a tame reception of the first 5G iPhone. They need the first 5G iPhone to be a hit,” sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Production pushed back as well
Apple has already pushed back the production of new iPhones to the end of August, other sources reveal, whereas the manufacturing typically starts two months earlier.
“We have been notified to start shipping in big volumes to meet Apple’s new product launch by the end of August, instead of like in previous years, when it would be sometime in June,” one supplier said. “The change was made very recently, and that could imply that the mass production of the phone could also be delayed for months.”
The 2020 iPhone generation is expected to come with at least one 5G model, but people close to the matter said all iPhones would feature such capabilities beginning with the upcoming lineup. As usual, Apple has remained completely tight-lipped on its plans, which makes total sense especially given the current pandemic.