The coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt and it appears that will be the case for Apple. The iPhone maker is likely to push back on its mass production schedule for the 2020 models, the delay prompted by issues with manufacturing and supply chain, a new report said. As expected, COVID-19 is to blame for the change of plan.
The news is not a surprise exactly as Apple's manufacturing partners in China have been bogged down by the COVID-19 spread months ago. That the assembly of the iPhone 12 will be delayed has been expected for some time but the tech giant is making clear things will be back to normal the soonest.
The projection is that production activities for the new handsets will start at most a month late, according to The Verge, citing an earlier story on the subject by The Wall Street Journal.
The report, however, has indicated that Apple is moving heaven and earth to ensure that the arrival of the iPhone 12 this year will be on time. That means the new series will be introduced in September and the availability will follow by late October.
To be clear though, the anticipated lateness in production could result to supply issues. While the iPhone 12 might be on store shelves as planned by Apple, there will not be enough units to go by, possibly in the first few weeks of the handsets' commercial debut.
The same report recalled that in 2017 and 2018, the tech giant had to deal with production glitches of upcoming iPhone models that shipments to specific markets were delayed. So the expected lack of supply will not be new for Apple and the iPhone 12, buyers will likely need to wait a long time before they can get their hands on the upcoming devices.
According to CNET, the iPhone 12 landing late or becoming readily unavailable for many has been flagged by Apple CEO Tim Cook in February. The company chief admitted that the looming health crisis then will have an impact on Apple's business operations.
The outbreak, Cook said, will prove "a stressful moment" for the firm but he assured that Apple will handle the difficult situation. He pointed to the company's solid R&D and its strong financial standing as insurance that the iPhone 12 and other product releases will proceed as smoothly as possible.
Like in 2019, the iPhone 12 is tipped to touch down in three versions that boast of three screen sizes - all equipped with OLED panels. It is expected that 5G support will be deployed across the board and that Touch ID will return in the form of an under-display fingerprint reader.
