Analyst says that iPhone 9 will still be released in the first half of 2020 despite coronavirus concerns

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What you need to know

  • The iPhone 9 had been rumored to arrive in the first half of 2020.
  • It was thought that the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak and factory closures may lead to a delay.
  • Kuo says that the launch is still on.

We've heard rumors related to an iPhone SE replacement, likely to be called iPhone 9, for months. It's a rumor that won't go away and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously said that a launch in the first half of is 2020 likely. At times he's even mentioned March as a possibility. But the recent factory closures due to the coronavirus outbreak were thought to have scuppered that. Not so, says Kuo.

In a new research note picked up by MacRumors, Kuo says that the arrival of iPhone 9 is still expected to take place in the first half of this year. He mentioned it almost in passing as he spoke about the lack of a 7-element (7P) lens in the device.

Because Apple expects that the new iPhone SE2 released in 1H20 will not use a 7P lens, it will not help the 7P lens shipment momentum.

The lack of a 7P lens isn't surprising given the fact iPhone 8 uses a 6P lens. That's the chassis that iPhone 9 is expected to use and with keeping costs down an important factor, using the less costly option makes tons of sense.

However, one area where Apple isn't expected to save money is the processor. It's thought that Apple will go for the powerhouse A13 processor in iPhone 9. Just as it did in iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.