Apple’s Plan To Boost iPhone Production Could Be Disrupted By Coronavirus

According to speculations, Apple is soon going to launch the much-awaited iPhone 9 or the iPhone SE 2 in the first quarter of 2020. Rumors also say that iPhone 12 will hit the market in the third or fourth quarter of 2020.

The Cupertino giant has asked all its suppliers and manufacturers to ramp up the production of iPhones by a minimum of 10%. But the recent coronavirus outbreak in China can hamper the production speed. There can be a delay in the launch of the iPhones as most of the Apple manufacturers and suppliers are based in China.

Will the upcoming iPhones launch on time?

As per the reports shared by Nikkei Asian Review, Apple has asked all its manufacturers to produce 80 million iPhones in the first two quarters of 2020. The company has already scheduled orders for up to 65 million old iPhones and around 15 million orders for a new cost-efficient variant (iPhone 9 or iPhone SE 2), which Apple will launch in March 2020.

The coronavirus outbreak has killed over 100 people in China and a total of 6,057 people (at the time of writing) are affected by the virus.

As iPhone 12 is scheduled to launch at the end of the third quarter or at the beginning of the fourth quarter, anything happening now will not affect its launch date. But as far as iPhone SE2 is considered, Apple might have to postpone its launch from March 2020 to the end of the second quarter.

Foxconn on iPhone production

Foxconn, one of the major manufacturers of Apple iPhones said that it will not adjust any of its timelines to manufacture products as it will not close the factories in relation to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Foxconn mentioned that it is monitoring the Coronavirus outbreak and there are minimal chances that its workers will get affected due to it as the company is taking care of their health and hygiene practices.

The company also said that they ensure that its workers meet all global manufacturing obligations and are taking precautionary measures to stay safe from coronavirus.

Apple’s earnings report and operations in China

Meanwhile, Apple reported an earning of $63 billion in the first quarter in its reports. The company has created even larger target for their next quarter which is $67 billion. However, CEO Tim Cook has said that figure can get affected due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Apple CEO has said that the company has restricted employees travel to China and one retail store has been shut down too. To tackle the Coronavirus outbreak, Apple has also minimized the retail store hours in China.