- The iPhone 12 release date was postponed officially to October, as Apple confirmed the rumors during its earnings call results on Thursday.
- Apple said that it wouldn’t release guidance for the September quarter, given the “uncertainty around the world.”
- Apple CFO Luca Maestri added that the new iPhone would be “available a few weeks later” than the usual late September launch.
Several reports said in the past few months that Apple would not be able to ship its iPhone 12 on time this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Typically, Apple unveils new iPhones in the second week of September, and that’s when preorders start. The handsets are delivered a couple of weeks later, on the same Friday that store sales start. Reports that followed said that some of the four iPhone 12 that are in development could make the late September launch, while others will see some delays. Earlier this week, Qualcomm said that one of its main customers would postpone the launch of a flagship phone that was supposed to hit stores this quarter, and the delay will impact its earnings. Separately, a rising Apple leaker said that the iPhone 12 would be launched in October alongside new iPad models. We didn’t expect Apple to confirm such rumors anytime soon, but the company did just that via an unusual statement. Then again, 2020 is a strange year, with COVID-19 impacting almost everything about regular life that we took for granted.
Apple released its earnings results for the June quarter on Thursday and revealed during its earnings call remarks that it will not offer guidance for this quarter.
“Similar to last quarter, given the uncertainty around the world in the near term, we will not be issuing revenue and margin guidance for the coming quarter,” Apple CFO Luca Maestri said. “However, we will provide some additional insight on our expectations for the September quarter for our product categories.”
That’s when the exec confirmed the iPhone 12 delay. “On iPhone, we expect to see recent performance continue for our current product lineup, including the strong customer response for iPhone SE,” he said, prefacing the iPhone 12 announcement.
“In addition, as you know, last year, we started selling new iPhones in late September. This year, we project supply to be available a few weeks later,” the exec added. Maestri did not specify any release dates, nor did he use the phone’s expected product name.
When asked later whether his delay comments referred to iPhone, iPhone chips, or product launches, Maestri made it clear that “I was referring to the new product. And I said that this year, the supply of the new product will be a few weeks later than that.”
It’s unclear when Apple will unveil the iPhone 12 series, but a mid-September announcement is still possible. The iPhone X launched only in November 2017, while the iPhone XR launched in October 2018 because of Face ID parts and LCD supply constraints, respectively. Both phones were unveiled during regular September events, alongside the other iPhones that were included in their series.
