Every time Apple announces the launch of a new phone, it leaves everyone excited. And the past few days saw a rise in the number of people searching for the Apple iPhone 12. The launch of the phone was supposed to happen on September 15, 2020, at the Apple event. However, the event saw updates on numerous other tech aspects from the company, but the phone.
The Apple Watch!
The watch comes with a Watch OS 7 and has an S6 chip. You can pre-order it from September 18, 2020, and the products will cost something around $399, £379, or AU$599. The watch comes with a Blood Oxygen app, which takes your reading for 15 seconds. Isn’t that a crucial feature at a time like now?
However, those waiting for an update on the iPhone 12 experienced huge disappointment as Apple’s Time Flies Event gave no new information on the phone. Social media was rife with speculation about the delay in the launch. A few tech enthusiasts stated that the iPhone 12 has been slipping from its original timeline several times. So, it wasn’t much of a surprise when the iPhone 12 launch did not occur at the Time Flies event. However, the event saw several other gadgets like the iPad Air, Watch Series 6, Watch SE, and subscription services.
The iPhone Launch – the Usual Fare
Apple uses September as the launch month for most of its products. It opens for pre-orders and is available for sale right towards the end of September or early October. While the ‘Time Flies’ event falls under Apple’s natural period of launching devices, there have been several reports citing various reasons for a possible delay for the launch of Apple’s latest iPhones. One big reason being the pandemic. Covid-19 went on to delay a lot of things, even the launch of the Apple iPhones.
The COVID- Effect
The outbreak pandemic in China caused most of the factories to shut down, and extended lockdown made the industries come to a halt. Like all other industries, Apple, too, faced an unprecedented setback in its manufacturing timeline. Apple usually clears the iPhone’s launch next-generation phones in the stipulated time frame of February-March. The phones undergo the engineering validation testing (EVT) process and go into the next production stage. This key phase was delayed, because of travel restrictions, thus creating a communication wedge between Apple executives and supply chains, and with factories staying shut, production came to a standstill.
As the factories started reopening, Apple concentrated on reviving the business after the long COVID-induced lull. The company focused more on the ‘affordable’ iPhones, says the 2018’s iPhone XR, or the iPhone SE. Also, Apple announced way back in February that it reduces all the guidelines linked to revenue. The normal market conditions are trying its best to go back to the previous condition, but things take longer than usual. So, analysts, at least most of them, lowered the guidance figures for the 5-G enabled iPhones, and the iPhone12 also had to take a back seat, and the other value-first phones took its place.
5G CHIPS
It isn’t all about the production timeline. Earlier, Qualcomm stated that it expects a little delay in the launch of the marquee 5G iPhone and may get a launch date sometime later in the year, and most analysts considered it to be iPhone 12. The pandemic also caused an indirect impact, which could be why it also led to a delay in the supply of 5G radio chips to get into the production stage.
The Apple-Qualcomm fallout led to a billion-dollar settlement suit. This gave Apple the go-ahead to use Qualcomm’s 5G chips in their 5G iPhones, part of the iPhone 12 lineup. Apple had got itself the Intel’s 5G modem business and the 5G radio chips that will feature in the upcoming iPhones. However, with a delay in the proceedings it impacts the component manufacturing chain and may further push back the iPhone 12 by at least a month.
The Revised Launch Date
The iPhone 12 may not get a completely new separate event in October. We are hoping that the delay won’t be further than that. Apple now manufactures almost 75 million units of the iPhone 12 for the current year’s last quarter. The latest Apple software, iOS 14, is now ready for the users. So even if you cannot lay your hands on the latest version of the iPhone, you can get a feel of it even on your older version of the iPhone! Well, let’s wait with bated breath for the launch and hope it does not shift to a later date!