Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has claimed that he expects Apple’s iPhone production won’t significantly improve until at least the second quarter of 2020, as China and other countries battle the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.
Kuo has warned of delays and low returns on labor costs in the months ahead, particularly at Apple’s factories in China. Companies such as Genius Electronic Optical, who supply camera lenses for the iPhone, fell significantly over the past few weeks, and its supplies are running dry as a result.
According to Kuo, there’s just a month of lens inventory remaining.
He added that it was unlikely that significant production would resume before May.
Speaking of this year’s new iPhone models, Kuo added that the 2020 iPhones will have the same ultra-wise camera lens design as the iPhone 11, and that all of the 5G iPhones, rumored for a September launch, were still on track for their predicted release and unveils.
The rumored iPhone 9 – the successor to the iPhone SE – is also expected to be on track to launch in the first half of this year, though ongoing challenges brought about by the coronavirus outbreak could put those plans on hold and cause a September release instead.
With the coronavirus outbreak now reaching global status, it’s hard to predict just how much of an impact it will have on the company’s supply chain and profitability.
\And Apple isn’t the only one – billions have been wiped off of exchanges around the world as businesses and investors scamble, causing unnecessary panic and encouraging consumers to stockpile.
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