Apple confirmed on the sidelines of a conference call with investors that the iPhone 12 will be launched “a few weeks later” than previous generations. While the first generations – until the iPhone 4 – were rather launched during the month of June, Apple has since rather accustomed observers to launch its flagship around the month of September.
This principle has known only one major exception since 2012, in 2017: the iPhone X was indeed launched on November 3. The other exceptions only concern less premium products, such as the 1st generation iPhone SE (launched in March 2016) and 2nd generation iPhone SE (launched in April 2020). However, the global coronavirus pandemic makes this year 2020 a special year – which forces Apple to revise its calendar a little.
Thus, the rumor of a possible postponement of the release of the iPhone 12 has persisted for several months now. An Apple official has nevertheless just confirmed this during a conference call with investors. Luca Maestri, one of the vice-presidents who is also the financial director of the firm, explained that the usual launch window would be postponed by “a few weeks”.
“As you can see, last year we started selling iPhones at the end of September. This year, we expect the supply to be available a few weeks later, ” explains Luca Maestri. Who repeats a little later during the call: “this year, the supply of the product will be delayed by a few weeks”. However, the manager does not venture to give a more precise launch window.
We also do not know if this postponement also concerns the presentation of the smartphone – Apple could maintain a keynote in September, and simply extend the time to market. As with WWDC, Apple is expected to hold a virtual launch keynote. The manager has also not mentioned the fate of other products that could be launched as a new generation Apple Watch or iPad.