Apple is Pushing Suppliers to Reduce iPhone 12 Production Delays [Report]

Apple is pushing suppliers to reduce iPhone 12 production delays, according to a new report from Nikkei.

Apple is facing delays of between four weeks and two months for mass production of the four models in its 5G lineup after postponements caused by factory lockdowns and workplace absences during the pandemic, sources told the Nikkei Asian Review. Apple has been betting heavily on the 5G range to help it against rivals including Samsung and Huawei Technologies, which introduced 5G-capable smartphones last year.

"What the progress looks like now is months of delay in terms of mass production, but Apple is doing everything it can to shorten the postponement. There's a chance that the schedule could still be moved ahead," one of the sources told Nikkei.


Another source told the site that some final assembly could be delayed until early October and warned that there could still be more delays as final designs have not yet been locked down.

Earlier this year, Apple purportedly ordered components for as many as 100 million 5G iPhones to be made in 2020; however, that number has been decreased to around 80 million units due to COVID-19. Given the effect of the global pandemic this is seen as a healthy number.

Orders of the iPhone 11, iPhone XR, and iPhone SE have been higher than expected, possibly to ensure supply in case of a delayed iPhone 12. Nikkei reports that suppliers have been asked to build over 45 million of the older model iPhones for 2H20.

Sources say the developer of the new high-end iPhone with millimeter wave 5G is around two months behind schedule while the other 5G iPhones which support the sub 6GHz band are one to one and half months behind.


More details in the full report linked below.

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