A new report to the Nikkei Asian Review reported that Apple is pressing suppliers to reduce production delays for the fifth-generation of iPhone 5G networks after the closures caused by the spread of the coronavirus in China and the United States, which caused the technology giant to be behind schedule.
The company is slated to issue four models in the lineup of iPhone 5G networks, with three different screen sizes: 5.4 inches, 6.1 inches, and 6.7 inches, but it faces delays ranging from four weeks to two months in the process of producing these devices.
The American company is betting heavily on this range of phones to help it against competitors, such as Samsung and Huawei, who provided smartphones supportive of 5G networks last year.
Apple collects most iPhones in China, but the design and other functionality teams are based in Cupertino, California.
The factories that collect iPhones closed during the coronavirus pandemic in China earlier this year, but have since been reopened.
California issued a closure order in March, which affected Apple employees. The newspaper reported that some employees of the iPhone maker returned to the company’s head office in June to try to release devices on time.
The report notes that Apple’s delay of the launch of iPhone phones supporting the fifth-generation networks until 2021 became less likely. The worst scenario that the company thought about three months ago.
Apple usually announces new iPhones in September, and people familiar with the matter said the tech giant and its suppliers were working overtime to make up for a lost time.
The report pointed out that some of the final assembly operations of the iPhone may be delayed until early October, with more delays because there are still many tests taking place now.
Apple’s competitors, such as Samsung and Huawei, have phones that support 5G networks.
Although the fifth-generation networks are not yet widely deployed, they are developing quickly in some countries, such as China and South Korea.
Some analysts see the iPhone 5G release as a catalyst for Apple’s stock price hike.
which has informed its suppliers of building more than 45 million older iPhone models – iPhone XR, iPhone SE, and iPhone 11 – to maintain its sales momentum in The second half of 2020.
fifth-generation of iPhone
Source: macrumors
