Oliver Haslam on March 6, 2020, 5:58 am

New Report Claims iPhone 9 Component Orders Have Been “Deferred” Until Q2

We’ve been expecting Apple to announce a new iPhone this month, with the iPhone 9 set to be the spiritual successor to the iPhone SE. It’s set to be an iPhone 8 in appearance, though, and rumors have had it set to be announced within weeks. But now a new DigiTimes report has poured cold water on that.

The confusing report claims that iPhone 9 PCB orders have been “deferred” until the second quarter of 2020. That would mean that Apple wouldn’t be able to get the phone out the door in March because the production of the parts hasn’t been ramped up yet.

Taiwan-based flexible PCB makers in the supply chain of Apple devices will see their shipments for the upcoming entry-level ‌iPhone‌ SE2 deferred from the first quarter to the second, and their second-quarter revenues may buck seasonal trends because of the deferral, according to industry sources.

This is one of very few reports that puts the iPhone 9 release anywhere beyond March, so it’s difficult to know how accurate it is. DigiTimes has a sketchy history with these things, often proven to be wrong as often as it is proven to be right.

Whenever it arrives, the iPhone 9 is expected to have a 4.7-inch LCD screen and look very much like the outgoing iPhone 8. Inside, it’s expected to use the powerful Apple A13 processor, making it one of the fastest phones on the market. Considering its expected $400 asking price, that’s quite the feat.

(Source: DigiTimes [1], [2])