COVID-19 has altered the world we once knew in all sorts of ways. It’s disrupted entire industries, tolled our economy, and caused many people to lose their jobs. In the tech world, what would normally be public keynotes held at arenas have been hosted exclusively online, including CES 2021. We’ve also seen changes to the way companies produce tech products, and the latest example of this is none other than Apple.
In an earnings call yesterday, Apple’s CFO Luca Maestri had to admit that the company plans to delay the launch of its next round of iPhones. “Last year we started selling new iPhones in late September,” Maestri said. “This year we expect supply to be available a few weeks later.”
Confirmation of a delay comes after multiple reports indicated such a consequence of coronavirus would happen. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Apple had to delay mass production of the next iPhones by around a month. This has caused the company to launch its newest roundup of smartphones in mid-October at the earliest.
While they typically don’t come out and say “yeah, the iPhone’s delayed this year,” Apple is no stranger to not launching an iPhone in September. In 2017, the iPhone X got delayed to November due to production issues, while the iPhone XR in 2018 shipped in October after the XS and XS Max in the month prior.
Apple’s line of iPhones this year looks extensive, so even without COVID-19, you might assume at least one or two models would get delayed to October. There’s supposed to be two iPhone 12 models, one 5.4-inches and one 6.1-inches. Then, you have the iPhone 12 Pros with 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch screens. All four models will have 5G, while the two Pro variants may come with 120Hz displays. New cameras, LiDAR scanners, and overall form factors are also in tow for the iPhone lineup this year.
There are a lot of changes onboard this year, and to coincide with them is a change to when Apple will ship them. It’s a pretty historic moment in Apple’s history – after all, Apple’s been shipping iPhones in September for almost a decade. Right now, it isn’t clear if Apple still plans on announcing the new iPhones in September or if it’ll wait until October to do so. That, we’re gonna have to wait on.
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