Word has been going around that Apple is thinking of postponing the release of its first 5G phone, the iPhone 12. There were even talks the launch would be pushed back until 2021, but Bloomberg now infirms the stories.
The rumor was sustained by the fact that Apple has been experiencing difficulties in the manufacturing process, which is mostly taking place in China. The country was the first to be hit by the global pandemic, and Apple was forced to close down factories for several weeks.
Foxconn, a major pawn in the iPhone production, says it has solved the recent labor shortages and is now back at normal seasonal capacity. This is good news for Apple, which is supposed to roll out the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro in the second part of this year.
People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the 5G iPhone 12 series is still “on schedule to launch in the fall, partly because mass production isn’t slated to begin until summer.” But this doesn’t mean there won’t be any delays at all.
We are used to seeing Apple unveil next-gen iPhones in September, but recent travel bans have stopped executives from traveling to China for the final stages of device prototyping. Apparently, this has put the company behind schedule by around two months.
Currently, the most realistic date for a release is in early November, a timeline that was adopted with the launch of the iPhone X, at the time.
On the other hand, other Apple products are affected by the current global health crisis, and we won’t see them rolling out any time soon. We’re talking about third-generation AirPods (also known as AirPods Pro Lite), a smaller wireless charging mat and a revised version of AirPower, the AirTags item tracking tags, and a pair of premium Bluetooth headphones that will sit above the existing Beats lineup.
Apple has also been working on an AR/VR headset, but that won’t arrive until 2021 or 2022.
Until then, we have some good news – the iPhone 9 (a.k.a. iPhone SE 2) is back on track. After the company initially postponed the launch indefinitely, there are now talks to release it in April.
We could see the iPhone 9 and iPhone 9 Plus hit online shelves as soon as April 15.
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