
Apple today confirmed its next iPhones will arrive a little later than usual in an earnings call with investors.
"Last year we started selling new iPhones in late September, this year we expect supply to be available a few weeks later," said Apple CFO Luca Maestri.
Maestri didn't provide any reasons for the delay, but given the state of the world, it's not exactly hard to guess why Apple may be pushing back the release. Back in April, The Wall Street Journal reported that the pandemic's impact on manufacturing and supply chains had affected Apple's iPhone production plans.
At this stage, it isn't clear if Apple still intends to unveil its 2020 iPhone family in September, or if it will also postpone its reveal event. While all three 2019 iPhone models were available shortly after they were announced last year, this hasn't always been the case. In 2018, the iPhone XS went on sale also immediately, while the iPhone XR wasn't available until the end of October. Similar happened in 2017 with the iPhone X; it was announced in September, but didn't hit shelves until the start of November.
Apple is expected to drop four new iPhones this year: the iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 Max, and the iPhone 12 Pro, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. All are expected to sport 5G and a brand new design reminiscent of the latest iPad Pro. The iPhone 12 is potentially the most interesting device out of the four, rumoured to be a much smaller handset with a 5.4-inch display. This would make it smaller than the iPhone 8, but a little larger than the iPhone 5.
You can read more iPhone 12 rumours here.
Alex Choros