Apple Struggling To Deliver 2020, 5G iPhones
Apple who overnight moved to close down for their second time, key Apple stores in the USA, is also scrambling to deliver their new 2020 iPhone range due to COVID-19 with some Countries facing the real possibility that they may not see the new iPhone range this year.
At this stage it’s not known whether they will close down their Melbourne stores due to the explosion in new cases in Victoria.
Reports coming out of Asia claim that Apple is pushing its suppliers as it looks to avoid delaying the launch of their 2020 iPhone models which will include their first 5G devices.
It’s also been revealed that the Company who is tipped to be running a ruler over Sonos is back talking with Imagination Technologies Group the creator of the Pure sound system.
Currently the UK chip designer is involved in a controversy over its ties to China.
The company’s new licensing agreement with Apple “certainly opens the door for more engagement with that company,” interim Chief Executive Officer Ray Bingham said in an interview. They announced in January they’d signed a multi-year license deal giving the Silicon Valley company access to a wide range of Imagination’s designs.
Imagination isn’t allowed to discuss its relationship with Apple beyond saying the Cupertino, California-based company is a licensee, but news that the computer maker is planning to start making more of its own chips doesn’t affect “our relationship with Apple in any negative way,” Bingham said.
Insiders claim that Apple is facing delays of at least four weeks and as many as two months on its hotly anticipated line-up of 5G iPhones, according to Japanese news service Nikkei Asian Review.
This could push the Australian iPhone launch out to December 2020.
Both Apple and its suppliers are working overtime, Nikkei reported, citing an anonymous source with knowledge of the iPhone production process.
“What the progress looks like now is months of delay in terms of mass production,” the source said, adding that Apple is “doing everything it can” to reduce the delay in hopes of moving up its schedule.
The move could see some Countries miss out altogether claims some Apple sources.
The outlook isn’t exactly rosy, with another source claiming that it will be a close call to get iPhones to customers in the last quarter.
“Some final iPhone assembly could be delayed to early October, and it wouldn’t be surprising if there are further delays because there are still a lot of tests going on now and the final designs have not yet been locked down,” the source said.
Apple reportedly plans to release four new iPhone models later this year, which will serve as the successors to the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro family of devices. The 5G handsets will allow the phones to access a network that promises faster internet and quicker response times than LTE.