Apple’s iPhone launch event may be delayed from September this year. A fresh leak suggests that the iPhone 12 series is expected to be unveiled in October this year, with the launch event sometime in the week starting October 12. Shipping of the iPhone 12 is expected to begin within a week of the launch, but the more premium iPhone 12 Pro pre-orders and shipment might only begin in November. This is a massive deviation from Apple’s traditional September launch timeline, and may be a result of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted the global supply chain and has caused many production issues.
iPhone 12 availability delays have already been confirmed by Apple by a few weeks, but a massive deferment is now being reported by YouTuber Jon Prosser. He suggests that Apple’s annual iPhone launch event this year will be held in the week starting October 12. Pre-orders for the iPhone 12 are tipped to begin in the same week. He claims that shipping of the iPhone 12 will begin in the week that begins from October 19 onwards. If true, this would mean that Apple wouldn’t be sticking to its traditional September launch event timeline this year.
The reasons for delay are not detailed, but the tipster adds that iPhone 12 Pro availability will be sometime in November. Pre-orders and shipping both will not begin before November, however the exact dates (or week) are not known yet.
In September, we may see the launch of the next generation Apple Watch and a new iPad. Apple has reportedly planned no separate event for these launches, and these products — it is believed — will be unveiled via a press release in the week starting from September 7.
This rather unusual approach by the tech giant may be due to the several issues that the coronavirus crisis may have brought along. Apple may be looking to adjust its sails to meet the challenges in the supply chain. Earlier this year, Apple even had a very low-key iPhone SE (2020) launch, and new Apple Watch and iPad products may be announced in a similar manner.
The iPhone 12 camera production was recently reported to have run into quality issues, and this may be one of the reasons for further delay. However, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo notes that Apple will look to source more cameras from its second supplier who hasn’t run into these quality issues during the production process. The analyst says that his little hiccup should not mess with Apple’s launch plans.
Of course, this latest information on launch delay should be seen with heavy reservations, as nothing has been confirmed by Apple yet. The Cupertino giant could well just be preparing for a grand launch event in September, and we mustn’t take all of this with absolute certainty as of yet. Apple CFO Luca Maestri has only confirmed a slight delay in iPhone 12 series availability by a few weeks. If a delay of this scale is happening, more clarity should be attained in the coming few weeks.
Is iPhone SE the ultimate ‘affordable’ iPhone for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.