Volume production of Apple’s 5G iPhones will start sometime in the month of July, as the final phase of engineering validation is expected to be completed by the end of this month, according to DigiTimes.
Aaron Lee and Steve Shen for DigiTimes:
Apple bans on staff traveling to China earlier in the year means there have been delays to two phases of tests needed before mass-production can begin.
Apple has stopped sending key iPhone engineers to China, which means progress on the engineering validation test prototypes of the iPhone 12 has stalled. Apple readies hardware by passing through stages: engineering validation, then design validation, and then production validation.
So, when will iPhone 12 launch?
At this point, there are three possibilities.
First, hold the keynote in September, with immediate but limited availability of all models. The Pro models would be likely to shift quickly to back-order status, with lengthy delays before delivery.
Second, take the same approach as the iPhone X and XR: go ahead with the September keynote, with one or more models available immediately, others going on sale at a later date.
Third, delay the keynote to October, so there is decent immediate availability of all models.
MacDailyNews Take: Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Especially for 5G iPhones. Ben’s second choice works for that, but also minimizes customer frustration. Unveil the iPhones a few weeks (or more) before launch. If needed stagger the “iPhone 12” / “iPhone 12 Max” and “iPhone 12 Pro” / “iPhone 12 Pro Max” availability dates as has been done in the recent past.
