What you need to know
- There are concerns that Apple's 2020 iPhone launch might be delayed.
- A new Bloomberg report suggests it will still go ahead.
- Foxconn is reportedly on track for fall.
We've seen many different analysts and reports go back and forth on the subject of whether Apple will be able to get its 2020 iPhones out the door this fall. With coronavirus causing problems around the globe and travel restrictions in place, Apple hasn't been able to go through its usual iPhone preparations. But that shouldn't be enough to put the launch back, according to a new report.
That report comes out fo Bloomberg with the outlet suggesting that Foxconn – Apple's biggest iPhone manufacturing partner – is good to go, despite coronavirus.
Signs are that Apple's Chinese-centric manufacturing -- of which Hon Hai is the linchpin -- is slowly getting back on track. The next iPhones with 5G wireless capabilities remain on schedule to launch in the fall, partly because mass production isn't slated to begin until the summer, people familiar with matter have said. Yet the sort of assembly that Foxconn specializes in is but one part of Apple's supply chain: the U.S. company and its partners spend months or even years sourcing components around the world and any disruptions to that complex network could delay future devices.
And it's those other partners that might still put paid to a fall iPhone launch. It's unknown just where Apple's plans sit right now, but it will surely do everything it can to make sure the annual September event goes ahead as planned. Whether that might involve a smaller than normal list of launch countries on day one, we'll have to wait and see.
