Slides the commercial launch of Apple’s iPhone 12 due to Covid-19: sales are expected to be halved
The suppliers from which Apple buys the components to build its electronic devices see black: iPhone 12 sales could halve in 2020, touching at most 20 million pieces against 40 million initially expected. And this because of Covid-19.
It is reported by the trade newspaper DigiTimes, which is based in Taipei (Taiwan), right in the heart of the Asian silicon valley that supplies half of the global electronics industry. According to DigiTimes, moreover, Apple could postpone the commercial launch of the iPhone 12, both because many of its suppliers had to stop during the lockdown, and because there are not very good sales forecasts since consumers have suffered huge economic losses all over the world. All this, by the way, just as Apple was replacing some Taiwanese suppliers with China-based competitors.
Why Apple is changing suppliers
Apple in recent years has been the preferred customer of many companies that manufacture electronic components in Taiwan. According to DigiTimes, however, Apple is reportedly replacing these suppliers with others, this time Chinese, to save on manufacturing costs, get closer to the Chinese market and diversify its supply chain to limit the risk of supply disruption in the event of future lockdowns. Many of Apple’s new suppliers, by the way, would be well disposed to welcome the Cupertino company among their customers (even making more than interesting prices), to face the lower sales to Huawei that, as it is known, is mired in the tug-of-war with Donald Trump and has suffered a big drop in sales.
When will the iPhone 12 arrive
In light of all this, however, it is not clear when the iPhone 12 will actually arrive on the market: Apple could also present it in September, as usual, but then distribute it to retailers with a delay of “a few weeks”. If the technical conditions are there, Apple is unlikely to delay the presentation of the new iPhone by much, because otherwise it risks arriving at the end of the year with very low sales statistics. Which is logical, given the delayed presentation, but that does not like investors much because it can be used as negative publicity by competitors.