Apple iPhone 12 launch delayed on production woes; iPhone SE Plus to launch in H2 2021: Report

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reported that Apple iPhone 12 launch could possibly take a hit due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The company has also pushed the iPhone SE Plus 2020 launch to H2 2020, according to the latest report.

Kuo’s latest investor note suggests that Apple has started the online qualification process for iPhone 12 series and has assigned more tasks to the ‘local team’. The changes have led to a month’s delay in the engineering verification process for the upcoming iPhone 12 models.

Apple is rumoured to launch four new iPhones under the iPhone 12 series this year. Kuo says that the 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch iPhone 12 models will enter mass-production in September, whereas the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro is not expected to hit production until October. A similar claim was made in another report, which stated that the most premium iPhone 12 Pro Max would go on sale in October.

According to the analyst, this is because the 6.7-inch model has “the most complicated” design.

Another reason for the delay is the new antenna band design on the mmWave iPhone. “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 stated.

Furthermore, the affordable iPhone SE Plus 2020 launch has also been postponed to H2 2021. Kuo had previously predicted that budget Plus model will launch during the first half of 2021.

Some reports claimed that Apple could unveil the 5.5-inch iPhone in May 2020. However, Kuo has maintained a fairly accurate record so the claim does have an edge over other speculations.