Foxconn: "Apple's First 5G Phone to Launch This Fall as Scheduled"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] Foxconn, the contract manufacturer, denied the forecast that Apple's first 5G iPhone launch would be delayed due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

According to Bloomberg on the 1st (local time), Foxconn recently told investors, "The 5G iPhone can still be launched this fall." Foxconn is a leading Taiwanese electronics company that manufactures Apple products, including the iPhone, on a contract basis.

Foxconn made this clarification because there have been recent forecasts that the launch of Apple's first 5G iPhone (iPhone 12) could be delayed due to the impact of COVID-19.

Foreign media such as Nikkei Asian Review previously reported, citing multiple sources, that "Apple recently held an internal meeting and considered postponing the launch of the next-generation iPhone scheduled for this fall." Gokul Hariharan, a JP Morgan analyst, also analyzed on CNBC that "due to entry and travel restrictions imposed by various governments, the prototype production of the iPhone originally scheduled for late June will be delayed."

Apple has not issued any official statement regarding the delay of the 5G iPhone launch. Foreign media expect that "the final decision on the 5G iPhone launch timing will be made around May."