The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro could face an iPhone X-like delay
Apple iPhone 12 Pro concept render based on leaks
There have been several conflicting reports in recent weeks, some saying the iPhone 12 is delayed and some saying the iPhone 12 is still on track. But the first scenario is today looking much more likely as even more reports have emerged suggesting Apple is behind schedule.
The iPhone 12 series might not launch until November
As reported by Bloomberg last week, the supply chain situation is slowly improving as China recuperates from the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak that gripped the country between late January and early March. That means Apple faces no iPhone 12 production delays this year, right? Wrong.
YouTuber Jon Prosser from Front Page Tech, who has an increasingly solid track record, claims Apple is actually facing a two-month delay that could see the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro released in November, much like the iPhone X in 2017.
The reason for this being that Apple requires executives travel to China each year to oversee the final stages of prototyping and select the version that will be released. This isn’t typically an issue, but the COVID-19 travel restrictions in place since late January have stopped that from happening this year.
Apple is effectively two months behind schedule at this stage. Moreover, the company “absolutely refuses” to do the product verification through a conference call and insists on being there in person, hence the iPhone 12 delay mentioned above.
J.P. Morgan agrees with this timeline
Corroborating Prosser’s claims is a recent note to investors from J.P. Morgan (via Apple Insider). In it, analyst Gokul Hariharan says Apple has already signed off on the 5-nanometer A14 Bionic design, which should start production very soon.
He does, however, expect some delay to the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro devices because of prototyping. Hariharan believes the first engineering verification tests (EVT) will be completed for the iPhone 12 series in April, a couple of months behind schedule.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro concept render based on leaks
Like Prosser, Hariharan now believes shipments won’t start until October or November because these recent developments.
There’s more bad news about the iPhone 12
By this time of year, Apple has typically selected the final design of its next iPhone lineup and finalized most of the specifications and features. Some small things can still change, but that usually means that leaks are increasingly accurate.
Unfortunately, the delay being experienced this year means that all of the recent iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro leaks could be far less accurate than usual. In fact, the information that has already leaked likely comes from a mix of several prototype models.
As such, those of you waiting for the next-generation iPhone lineup may have to wait a couple of months before the leaks start painting an accurate picture of Apple’s iPhone 12 series.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro concept render based on leaks