Apple is preparing to possibly delay the launch of its first 5G iPhones as the coronavirus pandemic threatens global demand and disrupts the company's product development schedule, sources familiar with the matter told the Nikkei Asian Review. The company has held internal discussions on the possibility of delaying the launch by months, three people familiar with the matter said, while supply chain sources say practical hurdles could push back the release, originally scheduled for September.
Apple is concerned that the current situation would significantly lower consumer appetite to upgrade their phones, which could lead to a tame reception of the first 5G iPhone, said one source with direct knowledge of the discussion. "They need the first 5G iPhone to be a hit."
Apple is already behind its biggest rivals Samsung and Huawei, which launched their first 5G devices in 2019. At the start of the year, the company set an aggressive target for the release of a 5G iPhone, instructing mobile suppliers to prepare to make up to 100 million units of the new devices for 2020 and designing four different models, sources told Nikkei.
Now, Apple is closely monitoring the outbreaks in the US and Europe, its two largest markets that together account for more than half of its sales, and assessing whether a delay is necessary, the report said. The exact timetable for the 5G iPhone launch may not be finalized until the 'shelter at home' order in its home state California is lifted, one of the sources said. Another person said a final decision should be taken "around May at the latest, given the fluid situation globally".
Apple declined to comment.The engineering development of the 5G iPhone has also been affected by travel restrictions introduced in the US, China and elsewhere to combat the coronavirus, two people with knowledge of Apple's schedule said. The company was supposed to work with suppliers to develop a more concrete prototype for the new phones from early March, but it had to delay such close collaboration, which requires hands-on testing, until the end of the month, before postponing it again due to the worsening pandemic in the US, they said.
