The fall is a busy time for phone makers as Apple, Samsung, and Google usually launch new devices a couple of months before the holiday season hits. The coronavirus pandemic put these plans in question, as the many links in the manufacturing, assembly, and delivery supply chain were significantly weakened. Apple seems poised to recover quickly and may be able to deliver shipments of its next iPhone 12 sometime in September, according to an analyst note from Daniel Ives at Wedbush.

If any phone company has the leadership to handle this crisis, it’s Apple. While Steve Jobs was known as an innovator and creator, his successor Tim Cook previously led Apple’s tight supply chains and established Apple’s industry-leading distribution efficiency. Phones launching in the fall time frame should have been finalized and ready for manufacture by the early summer, so it is impressive to read reports in late June that Apple has managed to surmount the crisis that has been disrupting work for four months.

Rumors point to four separate iPhone models or SKUs, and the next iPhone will feature 5G technology, according to Wedbush. Only iPhones available on U.S. carriers will get the high-frequency mmWave 5G networking, currently in use primarily on Verizon. That makes sense because the rollout of mmWave networks has been very slow and highly localized to crowded spaces. Apple has been cautious in the past about adopting new network technology. The iPhone jumped onto 4G LTE networks after most other major manufacturer flagships were offering LTE support; Samsung sold LTE-capable Galaxy devices for almost a year before Apple’s iPhone supported the network.

Wedbush predicts a surge for Apple pushed along by “5G tailwinds.” Ives sees pent-up demand for an iPhone upgrade, and most of that demand will come from China. The Chinese market could account for 20% of the next round of iPhone upgrade customers. The company currently has a market cap value of $1.5 trillion, and it could be on track to become the first-ever $2 trillion company in 2021.

There is no date set for new Apple announcements, and Apple usually holds events in early September, after Samsung announces its fall lineup of Galaxy Note and Galaxy Fold devices.

Related Posts

I turned the Notes app on my iPhone into a ChatGPT-powered memory bank

Imagine a system where you press the iPhone’s Action Button. It takes a screenshot, writes a brief summary of the on-screen content, adds hashtags for quick search, and automatically saves all the information in an app of your choice. 

OnePlus Ace 6T debuts with Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, and it looks a lot like the 15R

If you are curious about the price, the phone starts at CNY 2,599 (around USD 367) for the base model. If you want the fully maxed-out version with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage, you’re looking at CNY 3,699 (around USD 523). It hits shelves today, December 5, in three colours: Flash Black, Fleeting Green, and Electric Violet.

OnePlus 15R poised to make battery anxiety a thing of the past with mega reveal

OnePlus has confirmed the mega battery capacity for its upcoming affordable flagship model, which is set to bring a number of top-tier features from its pricier sibling to a more accessible price point.