Apple's iPhone launch plans might be delayed due to virus

AppleInsider

A report on Tuesday takes a theoretical look at Apple's iPhone launch plans, noting the company's most important product of 2020 might be delayed due to travel restrictions designed to combat the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Citing former Apple employees and supply chain experts, Reuters reports Apple engineers typically fly to China in the first months of the year to discuss iPhone manufacturing with partners like Foxconn. Those plans might be interrupted this year due to travel restrictions imposed on China as a result of COVID-19.

"They probably have one assembly line they're trying things out on," said a former employee. "Are Apple's engineers with the Foxconn engineers? If they are, they're probably making progress. But if they're not, if they're quarantined, that could be bad."

While the report is highly theoretical, with no concrete details of Apple's current activity, it does cite sources as saying senior Foxconn officials who left China during the Lunar New Year have not returned "on a large scale." Whether those people are needed on the ground to interface with Apple employees is unknown.

Fallout from the new coronavirus comes at a crucial time for Apple. Late January and early February usually sees late-stage testing of prototypes as the engineering validation process wraps up. Foxconn employees assemble a small number of devices, which are then subjected to troubleshooting procedures by Apple and Foxconn engineers, the report said.

Delays during the testing period would erode Apple's timeline to purchase custom chips and other parts necessary for mass assembly.

Apple and Foxconn engineers typically set up assembly lines and perform trial runs in March and April, the report said. Final adjustments come in April and May ahead of a start to mass production in June. The process was called "very complicated" by one person familiar with the matter.

Apple has some leeway before the situation becomes critical, but that window is quickly closing.

"There is no face-to-face work being done," an unnamed executive at a semiconductor supplier said, speaking generally about the industry. "And the word is, that's probably not going to change for another month at best. You're really talking about two lost months, which in the consumer electronics cycle is huge."

Both Apple and Foxconn were forced to shutter operations or draw down respective workforces to a bare minimum in recent weeks as part of efforts to contain the virus. In early February, the contract manufacturer informed employees not to return to its Shenzhen plant, a facility responsible for iPhone production. Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant, which handles a bulk of iPhone 11 and 11 Pro assembly, was also closed.

Apple likewise closed its stores, offices and call centers earlier this month and is only now reopening select locations.

The Cupertino tech giant last week revised down quarterly guidance on lower than expected iPhone sales, a direct result of coronavirus countermeasures. A slow return to peak iPhone production capabilities led to constrained global supply, while store closures and other factors put the brakes on Chinese demand.

SpamSandwich

Unless Apple specifically noted there would be an iPhone delay, this “report”, which is really just a wild guess, is a disservice to AAPL investors and contributes to the “short AAPL” momentum right now. I’m calling BS on this one.

mac_dog

Are you fucking kidding me? It seems we are now at a point in our evolution as a species where our innate ability for self-preservation is no where to be found. We are entering the beginning of the end of our species.

I called it first!!

/s
(Did you see what I just did?)

GeorgeBMac

That might be the only way the U.S. can protect itself -- block all foreign travel.  Because, once it's here we will be helpless.  Not only has our CDC and its pandemic staff been gutted over the past 3 years but we will not be capable of or willing to invoke the same restrictions China used in order to bring the virus under control there.

Our only defense may be to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world.

What REALLY needs done is a systemic way of identifying an infected person without waiting for symptoms (like fever) to appear.  As we know, a person can be infected and infectious for weeks before those symptoms actually appear.  So, one person can do a LOT of infecting without even knowing it.  

That's where research and resources are needed.  But, so far, we have ignored all public health measures.   Instead, Trump and his so called advisors are only concerned about the stock market.  We need leaders and leadership here but have none. 

spice-boy

I hope they do, can't wait for the melt down on AI. "all I care about is my Apple stock, now it's worth .02% less, boo hoo...."

FileMakerFeller

"Virus could affect production for a major manufacturer" - way to go out on a limb there, Reuters.

M68000

Agree with some of what GeorgeBmac says.  The most direct way to deal with this is for all countries to shut down civilian travel between countries.  Very drastic, but what better way to attempt to shut the spread down?  In view of no vaccine it seems the best option - but of course would such cooperation happen worldwide?  And don’t complain\whine about “financial” problems with the idea, everyone is in the same boat. 

blah64

GeorgeBMac said:

That might be the only way the U.S. can protect itself -- block all foreign travel.  Because, once it's here we will be helpless.  Not only has our CDC and its pandemic staff been gutted over the past 3 years but we will not be capable of or willing to invoke the same restrictions China used in order to bring the virus under control there.

Our only defense may be to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world.

What REALLY needs done is a systemic way of identifying an infected person without waiting for symptoms (like fever) to appear.  As we know, a person can be infected and infectious for weeks before those symptoms actually appear.  So, one person can do a LOT of infecting without even knowing it.  

That's where research and resources are needed.  But, so far, we have ignored all public health measures.   Instead, Trump and his so called advisors are only concerned about the stock market.  We need leaders and leadership here but have none. 

It's interesting that you have such a well-reasoned comment here after some of the crazy stuff on other threads.

Yes, ideally we would have a way of identifying the infected before waiting for symptoms.  Unfortunately, to do that at scale would isn't really practical due to expense.  At least so far.  The testing is expensive, and it's very likely that many, many people are already infected but will show little to no symptoms, which is the most worrying aspect of this virus. That and the CFR, which CDC just upped their estimate to 3.4%, iirc.