Oliver Haslam·

Analysts Expects Usual September iPhone 12 Event But With Availability Delayed Until October

There has been a ton of debate around whether Apple will be able to meet the usual September time frame for its new iPhone launch in 2020, or if things will need to be pushed back a little. A new report out of Wedbush analysts suggests that both might be true, sort of.

While the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to impact manufacturing plans and has potentially pushed everything back a number of weeks, Apple will reportedly still manage to announce the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro in September.

But don’t expect to be able to buy all of the new iPhones on day one. Instead, October might be the prime month for iPhone sales.

First, hold the keynote in September, with immediate but limited availability of all models. The Pro models would be likely to shift quickly to back-order status, with lengthy delays before delivery.

Second, take the same approach as the iPhone X and XR: go ahead with the September keynote, with one or more models available immediately, others going on sale at a later date.

Third, delay the keynote to October, so there is decent immediate availability of all models.

There is precedent for Apple’s launch and availability being staggered as Wedbush notes. The iPhone X and iPhone XR launches were staggered and it has been suggested we will see a similar method employed when launching the 2020 iPhones, too.

Apple is expected to announce four new iPhones this year – two iPhone 12 and two iPhone 12 Pro. All four are thought to be 5G handsets, with Wedbush noting that it expects Apple to be a keen on making sure that it has a handset available for all price points in a huge market – China.

China remains a key ingredient in Apple’s recipe for success as we estimate roughly 20% of iPhone upgrades will be coming from this region over the coming year. We believe in China alone between 60 million to 70 million iPhones are in the window of an upgrade opportunity over the next year with Apple going aggressively at all price points (SE, iPhone 12) to cement its installed base despite competitive pressures from domestic players.

For now, we wait. September isn’t all that far away.

(Via: 9to5Mac)

You may also like to check out:

You can follow us on Twitter, or Instagram, and even like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple, and the Web.