- Apple's rumored low-cost iPhone may be delayed because of supply constraints resulting from the coronavirus outbreak, according to Nikkei Asian Review.
- The news comes just after Bloomberg reported that the phone was still on track to launch in March.
- Apple also said on Monday that it does not expect to meet its revenue guidance for its fiscal second quarter because of the virus.
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Apple may miss its target to release a low-cost iPhone in March, according to a new report from Nikkei Asian Review, which comes just a day after Bloomberg reported that the launch was still on track.
Mass production of this new iPhone was slated to begin in February in preparation for a March release, as a previous Bloomberg report had indicated. But according to the latest report from Nikkei Asian Review, broad scale production of the expected low-cost iPhone may shift to March due to setbacks related to the coronavirus.
Suppliers in Apple's supply-chain network are currently working at between 30% and 50% capacity, a source told Nikkei Asian Review, as China-based plants grapple with shortages of labor and components. Apple could experience constraints until April, the report says.
"I think you have to plan for some form of a delay at this point," Gene Munster, managing partner at Loup Ventures, said to Business Insider when asked about the rumored low-cost iPhone. "They can launch a product, but it may be in short supply."
Apple did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
The report, although unconfirmed by Apple, is another sign of the coronavirus outbreak's impact on the tech giant's business. Apple said on Monday that it does not expect to meet its revenue guidance for the March quarter because of supply constraints and slowing demand in China caused by the virus. Although its iPhone manufacturing sites have reopened, they are ramping up more slowly than expected, Apple said.
Apple's rumored $400 iPhone is expected to feature a design that's similar to the iPhone 8, but with internal components that are similar to 2019's iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. Many have speculated that it will be called the "iPhone SE 2," suggesting that it may be a sequel to the company's low-cost iPhone from 2016, or the "iPhone 9," since it's said to resemble the iPhone 8.
It's one of several new gadgets Apple is expected to launch in the first half of this year, along with a new pair of high-end headphones, Tile-like tags to help users find lost items with their iPhone, and a refreshed iPad Pro, according to TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. A Bloomberg report on Tuesday suggested that the new iPad Pro could be delayed because of the coronavirus.