What you need to know
- Apple is aggressively trying to cut delays to the iPhone 12.
- A new report says it faces delays of between four and eight weeks currently.
- That has been cut from a worst-case scenario of a 2021 launch.
A new report says Apple is aggressively trying to cut iPhone 12 delays, and that it is no longer facing a worst-case scenario of postponing until 2021.
According to Nikkei Asian Review:
Apple is pushing its suppliers to try to reduce production delays for its first 5G iPhones as the U.S. tech company aims to limit the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.Apple is facing delays of between four weeks and two months for mass production of the four models in its 5G lineup after postponements caused by factory lockdowns and workplace absences during the pandemic, sources told the Nikkei Asian Review. Apple has been betting heavily on the 5G range to help it against rivals including Samsung and Huawei Technologies, which introduced 5G-capable smartphones last year.
The report says that Apple has "aggressively tried to cut delays" and as a result, is now "less likely" to face a worst-case scenario of a launch in 2021. Apparently, this was the situation three months ago. It says both Apple and suppliers are working overtime.
One source said:
"What the progress looks like now is months of delay in terms of mass production, but Apple is doing everything it can to shorten the postponement. There's a chance that the schedule could still be moved ahead"
The report notes that some of Apple's product-related deadlines have been moved up now that hardware teams have returned to the office. One source said the situation "remained dynamic" despite the "aggressive schedule":
"Some final iPhone assembly could be delayed to early October, and it wouldn't be surprising if there are further delays because there are still a lot of tests going on now and the final designs have not yet been locked down"
It is interesting to note that the final designs for the iPhone 12 still appear to have not been finalized.
The report notes that Apple is also preparing for better-than-expected shipments of older models in a bid to keep the sales momentum going, including the iPhone XR, iPhone 11, and iPhone SE.
The report confirmed that there will be four 5G capable iPhones in three different sizes, as per previous reports. This report also claims that only the top-end 5G model will use mmWave 5G in the U.S., noting that the remaining 5G iPhones will all support only Sub 6 GHz.
