We know Apple is behind on the iPhone 12, as even the company itself has said there’s a delay, but sources suggest the delay has been cut from months at one stage to just weeks now, with mass production apparently set to begin in either late September or early October.
That’s according to “sources familiar with the matter” speaking to Nikkei Asian Review, who added that Apple is supposedly aiming to make 80 million 5G iPhones by the end of the year, but that realistically it’s more on target to make 73 or 74 million.
Of these, apparently around 40% will be the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Max, so there might not be as many units of the other three rumored models – the 5.4-inch iPhone 12, 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro, and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max – on day one.
iPads and AirTags, but no new SE
Apple has also apparently placed production orders for 27 million iPads for the September to December period, and unlike the iPhone 12 there supposedly hasn’t been much disruption here.
The sources also claim that Apple has already begun producing AirTags – a long-rumored Tile-like accessory that you could attach to devices to track them if they’re ever lost.
Finally, these sources state that Apple isn’t planning a successor to the iPhone SE (2020) for next year.
As ever we’d take all of this with a pinch of salt, especially as Apple is holding an event on September 15 – which seems a bit early for an iPhone 12 launch if the phones won’t even have entered mass production yet.
Then again, Mark Gurman (a source with a good track record for Apple leaks) claims the upcoming event will be for the Apple Watch 6 and a new iPad (likely the iPad Air 4), with the iPhone 12 not landing until October, which is a time frame that would line up with these production schedule leaks. With that September 15 event fast approaching, we should know the truth soon.
