14 DAY TRIAL // As if the debut of a new iPhone generation wasn’t mysterious enough, the global health crisis has turned everything into a huge puzzle that everyone (including at some points even Apple) is trying to solve these days.
So while we know the iPhone 12 is on its way and should see daylight this fall, nobody knows exactly when this is going to happen, and more importantly, when it’s supposed to go on sale.
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives says in a new note to investors (seen by AI) that most likely Apple will announce the new iPhones in September and then begin shipping the devices in early October.
This is a schedule that reminds of the iPhone X, whose deliveries were pushed back due to inventory problems, and now it looks like Apple wants to go for the same approach for the entire iPhone 12 lineup.
The super-cycle is back
More importantly, the analyst says that the iPhone 12 series will be a mix of 4G and 5G models, with the latter to obviously cost more. But on the other hand, a sub-$1,000 price tag is still very likely, and there’s a good chance the 4G models would be priced similarly to the existing models.
Certainly, there’s more to discover in this regard, especially because Apple needs to find a way to add 5G but keep the price at human levels. The analyst’s note corroborates other reports and says the iPhone 12 could launch without EarPods in the box, possibly in an attempt to make the device more affordable.
And all these efforts could lead to a new super-cycle, as the analyst claims there are 350 million devices that need to be upgraded.
The super-cycle has become more of a myth that keeps coming back every year ahead of a new iPhone launch, but Ives says everything is back to normal after the global health crisis and the supply chain is preparing its output for the high volumes needed to power an en-masse upgrade to new-generation iPhones.