05/20 Update below. This post was originally published on May 19
Apple’s iPhone 12 upgrades are some of its biggest in years. But new information has revealed a major surprise: when Apple plans to release them.
Apple iPhone 12 Product Red concept render
PhoneArena
MORE FROM FORBESApple iPhone 12: Everything We Know So FarBy Gordon KellyIndependently verified by two sources, well connected Samsung insider Ross Young and Front Page Tech’s remarkably accurate Jon Prosser, Apple is going to have to delay the launch of the entire iPhone 12 lineup due to the Coronavirus pandemic. But the big surprise is you won’t have to wait any longer than normal to get your hands on them.
“iPhone 12 panel production will start around 6 weeks late, so rather than early June, it won’t start till the end of July which should imply a delay in the iPhone 12 launch from September to October,” explains Young.
Prosser concurs but brings the twist: “Regardless of what you’ve heard elsewhere, we will not be getting it in September, iPhone 12 is delayed. We’re going to be getting it in October… [but] instead of having announcements in September and then it comes out in October, it looks like they’ll shoot for all of it happening in October.”
05/20 Update: Jon Prosser has updated me today, noting that it isn’t yet a slam dunk that Apple will get every iPhone 12 model on sale for October. He states that Apple is “hopeful” of the range all launching simultaneously, but it is not yet guaranteed. That said, what is clear is Apple’s pulling out all the stops to get its global supply chain network running to deliver these smartphones to retailers on time. So, if Apple does miss, it won’t be by much. That, in itself, is a huge achievement.
iPhone 12 line-up with new models and screen sizes
EverythingApplePro
With the exception of the iPhone X (November), every iPhone since the iPhone 5S has gone on sale in October. For Apple to hit that target again with the world’s biggest-selling smartphone and most complex supply chain during this most disrupted of years would be remarkable.
And for Apple fans, the iPhone 12 line-up comprises smartphones you will want to get your hands on as fast as possible. For a start, Apple is making its biggest design changes in three years, introducing smaller and larger phone sizes and adding 5G to every model. On top of this, every iPhone 12 will have upgraded cameras, Apple’s new LiDAR sensor and, allowing for inflation, the cheapest entry-level price in a decade.
Yes, it’s time to get excited.
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