Suppliers deny Apple is delaying 'iPhone 12' production

Posted:
in General Discussion
Printed circuit board manufacturers say that Apple has not told them to postpone production, as previously reported, and therefore the 5G iPhone is not expected to be delayed.

Makers of the printed circuit boards that go into iPhones are saying they're sticking to schedule, so far
Makers of the printed circuit boards that go into iPhones are saying they're sticking to schedule, so far


Following reports first that Apple will delay the "iPhone 12" by two months, and then reports that it will not, sources in the supply chain expect production to continue as planned.

According to Digitimes, Taiwanese manufacturers of printed circuit boards (PCBs) for the iPhone have denied reports of delays. Specifically, they say that Apple has not asked them to postpone production.

The claim had been that they were asked to postpone by two months, in order to fit with a delayed iPhone launch. Unnamed industry sources told Digitimes that they have received no request nor any notification about production being delayed.

Digitimes, though, does also note that multiple manufacturers are facing uncertain demand because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, plus difficulties in recruiting staff for their production lines.

Prior reports said that Apple was considering such a delay in part because of problems completing work on the "iPhone 12" prototype by March. However, analyst Gene Munster has countered this with a reminder to investors that a new iPhone is built over three or four years, not one.

"That implies that by the end of March in a given year, the vast majority of work on an iPhone design and planning with the supply chain is already done," he said.

Digitimes has a significant track record from its sources within the supply industry, although it then has a substantially weaker success rate in interpreting the information it gets. In this case, though, the suppliers are talking specifics about manufacturing lines rather than hinting at particular components or features.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Like so much we see today, those reports were based on incorrect assumptions bolstered by facts accumulated to support the false assumption.

    In this case, the false assumption was:  "Because iPhones are assembled in China and Chinese society and manufacturing were destroyed, the iPhones cannot be produced".

    The fact is:  China took drastic but effective action and they are back up and running.  Currently their main limitation seems to be that they are blocking any foreigners from entering their country in order to block the resurgence of infections they are now seeing from foreigners.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    Wow .... China your best friend I see.  The fact is:  China created a Pandemic that the world now has to deal with unnecessarily if they would have just stepped up to the plate. 
    ben20elijahg
  • Reply 3 of 7
    ben20ben20 Posts: 126member
    Like so much we see today, those reports were based on incorrect assumptions bolstered by facts accumulated to support the false assumption.

    In this case, the false assumption was:  "Because iPhones are assembled in China and Chinese society and manufacturing were destroyed, the iPhones cannot be produced".

    The fact is:  China took drastic but effective action and they are back up and running.  Currently their main limitation seems to be that they are blocking any foreigners from entering their country in order to block the resurgence of infections they are now seeing from foreigners.
    What a bs! China made so many mistakes!!! Most of my friends and many business partners are still in lockdown in China! How do you do business with a country where you can't travel to? You DON'T. China will hit a major recession and a lot o people here are very angry because the outbreak could have been prevented.
    elijahg
  • Reply 4 of 7
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Wow .... China your best friend I see.  The fact is:  China created a Pandemic that the world now has to deal with unnecessarily if they would have just stepped up to the plate. 

     No, reality is my best friend!
    And, LOL... No,   China did not "create" a pandemic!   Unless, that is, you believe the hate filled right wing talking points.  They're pretty good at twisting and distorting the truth and then declaring a lie as the truth.

    But, fortunately for us, China has agreed to help us out of the mess Trump put us in with his negligence and mismanagement.   We should be grateful rather than hateful. 
  • Reply 5 of 7
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    ben20 said:
    Like so much we see today, those reports were based on incorrect assumptions bolstered by facts accumulated to support the false assumption.

    In this case, the false assumption was:  "Because iPhones are assembled in China and Chinese society and manufacturing were destroyed, the iPhones cannot be produced".

    The fact is:  China took drastic but effective action and they are back up and running.  Currently their main limitation seems to be that they are blocking any foreigners from entering their country in order to block the resurgence of infections they are now seeing from foreigners.
    What a bs! China made so many mistakes!!! Most of my friends and many business partners are still in lockdown in China! How do you do business with a country where you can't travel to? You DON'T. China will hit a major recession and a lot o people here are very angry because the outbreak could have been prevented.

    Sorry, no.   Unlike the U.S. China not only recognized the problem but dealt with it effectively.  Now they are not only back up and churning out iPhones but shipping ventilators, masks, sanitizers, etc to save a failing U.S. healthcare system that, despite months of warnings, did nothing.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 8,001member
    None of the recent viruses were 'created' by anyone. Viruses mutate and there are lots of factors involved. Trying to pin things on one particular country is absurd.

    Viruses will appear and periodically some of them will be a huge problem. 

    The only real change with regards to the seriousness of any particular outbreak today is our ability to travel the globe faster and in greater numbers than ever before but this has been common knowledge for decades.

    Pretty much everything else is secondary to that so if we take it as a given that new viruses will continue to appear, things like detection, containment, treatment, vaccines etc will have to be improved. Lessons will (hopefully) be learned and protocols will be adjusted. Budgets will be adjusted. New technologies will come online. People will adjust etc.

    I can guarantee you that new viruses will continue to emerge and some of them will represent grave threats to humans, other animals, insects, plants etc. That is the nature of the beast.

    That is not to say personal and food hygiene should not improve. As I said, many factors are involved but trying to label any virus and pin it on one particular country is absurd.

    Send the sponge from your kitchen sink off for testing and when you get the results back you may well decide to disinfect the whole thing!

    As supply chains became global, the risk of a pandemic putting a stopper on activity has always been there. Again, the COVID-19 experience will allow us to examine ways to better protect ourselves against disruption going forward.

    Apple takes risks, but calculated risks. For example it has put its SoC eggs into the TSMC basket and only that basket. Personally I wouldn't have done that but calculated risks are only that, calculations. There is no clear or perfect answer to many situations. You look at them, weigh your options up and calculate the risk.

    You can always recalculate and possibly reach a different answer. The COVID-19 situation is exceptional but lessons will be learned by everyone.
    edited March 2020 GeorgeBMacmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 7 of 7
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    avon b7 said:
    None of the recent viruses were 'created' by anyone. Viruses mutate and there are lots of factors involved. Trying to pin things on one particular country is absurd.

    Viruses will appear and periodically some of them will be a huge problem. 

    The only real change with regards to the seriousness of any particular outbreak today is our ability to travel the globe faster and in greater numbers than ever before but this has been common knowledge for decades.

    Pretty much everything else is secondary to that so if we take it as a given that new viruses will continue to appear, things like detection, containment, treatment, vaccines etc will have to be improved. Lessons will (hopefully) be learned and protocols will be adjusted. Budgets will be adjusted. New technologies will come online. People will adjust etc.

    I can guarantee you that new viruses will continue to emerge and some of them will represent grave threats to humans, other animals, insects, plants etc. That is the nature of the beast.

    That is not to say personal and food hygiene should not improve. As I said, many factors are involved but trying to label any virus and pin it on one particular country is absurd.

    Send the sponge from your kitchen sink off for testing and when you get the results back you may well decide to disinfect the whole thing!

    As supply chains became global, the risk of a pandemic putting a stopper on activity has always been there. Again, the COVID-19 experience will allow us to examine ways to better protect ourselves against disruption going forward.

    Apple takes risks, but calculated risks. For example it has put its SoC eggs into the TSMC basket and only that basket. Personally I wouldn't have done that but calculated risks are only that, calculations. There is no clear or perfect answer to many situations. You look at them, weigh your options up and calculate the risk.

    You can always recalculate and possibly reach a different answer. The COVID-19 situation is exceptional but lessons will be learned by everyone.

    All true....   But add to that danger a potentially even bigger one of resistant bacteria.   There we not only have to fear the same natural evolution that one of our medicines can't treat but we are actively producing them:   The wide spread use of anti-biotics in humans and (even far more so) in animal agriculture is guaranteed to produce a bacteria against which we have no defense.

    You are correct that we need to improve our ability to respond.   The current crisis exposed two major vulnerabilities in western cultures:
    1)   We don't have the will or ability to impose widespread restrictions on people and businesses
    2)  The unsteady balance between unconstrained for-profit medicine and strong government control exposed it to be highly inefficient.  But too much of either is equally bad.

    One thing is certain:  we are at war.   An ongoing war.  This is just the latest battle in that ongoing war.  Further, nature doesn't care if mankind, a virus or a bacteria (or even a prion) are the ultimate winner.   In fact, in nature there are no ultimate winners -- its always an ongoing battle between species as well as with nature itself (hurricanes, earthquakes, climate change, etc...)

    We need to realize that, just as with climate change, we are influencing the natural balances in nature and breeding the killer that could, one day, wipe out the human race -- or at least reduce it significantly.   And further, climate change and viral & bacterial outbreaks can interact:  for instance Zika virus favors warmer climates -- which is exactly what we are producing.

    For a hundred years we have been sitting safe and cozy without any significant natural predators to threaten us. We need to wake up and understand that that is not how nature works and better prepare ourselves for the battles with currently unknown foes that we and our progeny will face ahead.  (And no, hubris is not an effective defense!)
    muthuk_vanalingam
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