Qualcomm on Wednesday shared its third-quarter earnings report and indicated that Apple’s 5G-capable 2020 iPhone 12 lineup may see a “slight delay.”
Reuters reports that Qualcomm CFO Akash Palkhiwala referred to the delay as “slight”:
“We’re seeing a partial impact from the delay of a flagship phone launch. And so what we’ve seen is a slight delay that pushes some of the units out from the September quarter to the December quarter for us.”
September is traditionally when Apple unveils and releases its new iPhones. While Qualcomm did not specifically mention Apple in the comments, it is likely that the iPhone is the device that’s being referred to.
Apple is widely expected to use Qualcomm’s 5G chips in its entire 2020 iPhone lineup. The Qualcomm comments are just the latest indication the iPhone 12 release will be delayed due to COVID-19 coronavirus-related production delays. Leaker Jon Prosser on Wednesday predicted the iPhone 12 launch would be delayed until October.
While Apple will still likely unveil the new iPhone 12 lineup in September, there is a precedent for unveiling a device that will have a delayed launch. Apple unveiled its iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR devices in September 2018, although the iPhone XR didn’t hit shelves until October.
