Kuo: mmWave 5G iPhones Have 'Potential Delay Risk,' Production on 6.7-Inch iPhone Delayed to October
Some of Apple's upcoming 5G iPhones could see a delay in production, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a note shared with investors. mmWave models, which will feature the fastest 5G functionality, have a "potential delay risk" and may launch outside of the normal timeline.
Production on the mmWave iPhone may be pushed back because of changes to the antenna package that were made in early April, and delays in qualification process services.
The mmWave iPhone will be pushed back because the design of the antenna in package (AiP) changes in early April. Additionally, the test lab is closed and can't offer qualification process services. If the pandemic can't be controlled well until July, then we think that the shipment allocation of mmWave iPhones will decrease to 5-10% from 15-20%.
Kuo says the rumored 6.1-inch and 5.4-inch iPhones will go into mass production in September, but mass production on the larger 6.7-inch iPhone will be delayed until October because it has the "most complicated" design.
Apple decided to start the online qualification process remotely and delegate more tasks to local employees for new iPhone development. The change takes time; therefore, it had caused a one-month delay in entering the engineering verification test (EVT) for all new 2H20 iPhones. We believe that there is a likelihood that new 2H20 6.1-inch and 5.4-inch iPhones will go into mass production in September. The mass production of the new 2H20 6.7-inch iPhone will be delayed to October because this model’s design is the most complicated.
Delaying mass production on the 6.7-inch iPhone until October would result in the iPhone launching later in the fall than expected. Other rumors have also suggested Apple could stagger iPhone launches this year due to production and verification process delays.
According to Kuo, iPhone SE sales were better than expected, but overall demand for iPhones is down. In the worst case scenario, Kuo estimates second quarter iPhone shipments of 29 to 32 million units, declining 20 to 25 percent year over year.
If consumer confidence and purchasing power recover in the third quarter of 2020, iPhone shipments could fall as little as 10 to 15 percent year over year.
Popular Stories
With the fourth betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS 26.1, Apple has introduced a new setting that's designed to allow users to customize the look of Liquid Glass.
The toggle lets users select from a clear look for Liquid Glass, or a tinted look. Clear is the current Liquid Glass design, which is more transparent and shows the background underneath buttons, bars, and menus, while tinted ...
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps.
More features and changes will follow in future ...
Apple is "drastically" cutting production of the iPhone Air and shifting focus toward the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models, Nikkei Asia reports.
The business publication claims to have learned of a major cut to iPhone Air production motivated by weaker-than-expected consumer interest, nearly to "end of production levels." Despite early reports of the iPhone Air selling out within hours of...
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works.
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings.
iOS 26.4 will...
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions.
iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet.
The update will likely be released by the end of next week.
Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more.
With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
With the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple added a toggle that makes Liquid Glass more opaque and reduces transparency. We tested the beta to see where the toggle works and what it looks like.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
If you have the latest iOS 26.1 beta, you can go to Settings > Display and Brightness to get to the new option. Tap on Liquid Glass, then...
Even though we're at the fourth beta of iOS 26.1, Apple is continuing to add new features. In fact, the fourth beta has some of the biggest changes that we'll get when iOS 26.1 releases to the public later this month. We've rounded up what's new below.
Liquid Glass Transparency Toggle
Apple added a toggle for customizing the look of Liquid Glass. In Settings > Display and Brightness,...
