14 DAY TRIAL // The coronavirus outbreak hit the technology industry very hard, as the majority of companies rely on Chinese manufacturing and suppliers. Due to the risk of infections, many parts manufacturers in China suspended production, and this is now causing shipping delays that’s affecting a growing number of firms, regardless of their location on the globe.
One of them is Purism, which has recently confirmed that the coronavirus is also affecting its suppliers, so certain parts might arrive later than originally planned.
“Like many industries reliant on procurement and shipping from China we have also been affected by the developing COVID-19 outbreak. We have been in constant communication with our suppliers and now have been given dates when we can expect affected parts to arrive. We will continue to keep you informed on future developments. Our thoughts are with all those directly and indirectly affected in China and the rest of the world,” Purism says.
Tech giants hit hard
The updated shipping schedule reveals that the Librem 13 V4 and the Librem Key inventory is projected to be updated in mid-March, while by the end of the same month, the Librem 5 Dogwood internal hardware revision for the Purism team should be ready as well.
The Librem 5 Dogwood batch for customer pre-orders is now scheduled to be prepared by the end of April, while the Librem 5 Evergreen batch for customer pre-orders is now due by mid-August.
On the other hand, Purism says the Librem 15 V4 isn’t affected by the supplying struggle thanks to existing inventory. Discounted refurbished Librem laptops and Librem Servers are also available, the company says.
The coronavirus outbreak affected the operations of several tech giants, including Apple, which has recently confirmed that it now expects revenue to be lower than expected during the quarter because of the virus impact.