Apple’s first 5G iPhone may get delayed

The difficulties of Apple are not going to end anytime soon and the credit goes to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Apple’s analyst, Ming-Chio Kuo has revealed that the first 5G iPhone of the company will get delayed by a month. Along with this, the low-cost iPhone SE Plus which was supposed to launch in early 2021, will now be launched in the second half of 2021.

In the latest investors’ note, Kuo revealed that the development of the iPhone 12 will be impacted by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. He also added that the increase in the pre-orders of iPhone SE will exceed the market expectation and this will adversely impact the sales of iPhone 11.

Apple has already started the qualification process for the iPhone 12 online. This lead to the month-long delay to the engineering verification process of 4 iPhone 2 models. It is said that the 6.1-inch and 5.4-inch iPhone 12 models will enter production in September, whereas the 6.7-inch model is set to mass production in October.

This suggests that this year the company will allowing the price and availability the upcoming iPhones will be staggered.

On the other hand, the iPhone SE pre-orders have exceeded expectations and Kuo expects that the company will sell 12 to 14 million units in Q2.

Recently, a report by Nikkei revealed that that the Cupertino-based tech giant held an internal discussion where it was contemplated if the launch could be delayed by months. The report quotes three people familiar with the matter, one of whom said, “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.”

“Apple will make a final decision around May at the latest, given the fluid situation globally,” another person told Nikkei.

―Times of India