It was reported earlier this month that KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that various production issues will cause a delay in the debuts of Apple’s iPhone 5S, lower-cost iPhone, and second-generation iPad mini. A report from Reuters today backs up that claim.
Supplier sources in Japan and Taiwan, home to dozens of Apple suppliers, said they initially expected mass-production of the next iPhone to begin in June.
That date may have begun to slip beyond June, the sources said. The phone, widely referred to as the iPhone 5S, is expected to include new features such as a fingerprint sensor. A supply chain source in Taiwan said Apple was trying to find a coating material that did not interfere with the fingerprint sensor, and this may be causing a delay.
As for the lower-cost iPhone, a Japanese supplier informed Reuters that “small-scale production” of displays for the device will begin in May, with mass production beginning the following month. Reuters sources say the budget handset will use the same 4-inch display as the iPhone 5S, but will have a plastic casing, and no fingerprint sensor.
