Sources in Apple's Supply Chain Dismiss Reports of iPhone 12 Launch Delay

Taiwanese makers of iPhone-bound printed circuit boards (PCBs) have denied reports that Apple has asked them to postpone volume production of Apple's 2020 iPhone by two months, according to a DigiTimes paywalled article.

Taiwan's PCB makers in the supply chain of 5G iPhones have denied reports claiming they have been asked to postpone volume production by two months in line with a likely launch delay for Apple's new-generation devices amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to industry sources.

The rebuff follows a report earlier this week from Japanese news site Nikkei that claimed Apple was preparing to delay the launch of its 2020 ‌iPhone‌ lineup "by a few months" over fears of how well iPhones would sell in the current situation.

Nikkei's report suggested supply chain sources also foresaw "practical hurdles" that could push back the launch date, which was scheduled for September, and that the engineering development of the 2020 ‌iPhone‌ lineup had been affected by travel restrictions to the United States, China, and elsewhere.

In a separate DigiTimes report filed today, ‌iPhone‌ supplier Pegatron's CEO SJ Liao also cited travel restrictions as a factor impacting the supply chain which manufacturers were working to overcome, although he stopped short of referring to Apple by name:

Commenting on whether the supply of its US-based client's 5G smartphones has been disrupted, Liao noted that the client at the moment is having trouble visiting the factories to make direct supervision of manufacturing and as a result, the supply chain will need to have the new smartphones built without the client's supervision.

However, Pegatron will keep communicating with the client to resolve any concerns it has. As for the market rumor that the client's 5G smartphone development has also been seriously delayed because of the pandemic, Liao noted that both the client and supply chain players at the moment are mainly looking to shorten the front-end processing work for the handsets.

A recent report from Bloomberg suggested that the ‌iPhone‌ 12 models are still on course for a fall launch despite disruptions to Apple's supply chain, and Foxconn this week said that it now has enough workers to meet "seasonal demand."

Rumors point to four new ‌‌iPhone‌‌ models for 2020, which will be available at various price points. All models are expected to have 5G capabilities and A14 chips, and higher-end models are expected to be equipped with new 3D camera systems like the LiDAR Scanner in new iPad Pro models.