Earlier this week, a report from Nikkei said that Apple was considering delaying the iPhone 12 launch “by months.” Now, Reuters reports that while Apple’s supply chain is up and running in China, suppliers are worried about demand and a potential iPhone 12 delay.
The Reuters report cites a “senior official at one of Apple’s major contract assemblers” who says Apple’s orders for fiscal Q2 are likely to be down around 18% year-over-year. That same source adds that production ramp-up for the iPhone 12 has “been postponed,” but a release during the fall is not out of the question:
The issue isn’t supply or production shortages in China, according to the person, but rather concerns about demand for new phones:
The report also cites one of Apple’s display suppliers, who is considering lowering their shipping estimates by 17%, from 70 million iPhone displays to 58 million. Other suppliers say that they are still following guidance provided by Apple before the COVID-19 pandemic. This, however, doesn’t account for the potential for lower demand.
Thus far we’ve heard conflicting reports about the fate of the iPhone 12. It appears that Apple hasn’t made a decision about a release for this fall, but that it could be slightly postponing the production ramp up to give it more time to make that decision.
Apple will report its fiscal Q2 earnings in April, but it has already announced that it will not hit its previously-provided guidance due to COVID-19.
