iPhone 12 mass production date just got shot down

Apple might start iPhone 12 production as early as July, despite reports that the next iPhone launch could be delayed until October rather than the normal September window. But not everyone believes that’ll be the case. 

A new report for DigiTimes, as flagged by 9to5Mac, noted that iPhone 12 “volume production” is expected to start next month, which translated into at least one of the four iPhone 12 models getting released in September after all. But tech tipster L0vetodream on Twitter said such a launch was “impossible”. 

Now L0vetodream didn’t qualify this comment, but it’s worth noting that on June 1 DigiTimes had reported that most of the iPhone 12 models will begin large scale production in the third quarter of the year, so between July and September, in time for an October launch. The report also noted that production on the “mainstream” 6.1-inch iPhone 12 models would begin first, but that would still translate to an October launch for all four next-generation iPhones. 

This might seem confusing, but it would mean that come October there would be more mainstream iPhone 12 models available than the smaller or larger versions, which aren’t as likely to be as popular as the 6,1-inch models. But the waters got further muddied by a newer report by DigiTimes. 

The latest report from June 10 noted that all iPhone 12 model volume production, including any 5G variants, is expected to start in July. And that would then suggest that all four iPhone 12 handsets would then be ready for a September launch. 

As such, it would indicate that either there’s some confusion between DigiTime’s sources or that Apple is working hard to get its manufacturing and supply chains up to speed order to ensure that it has new iPhones ready for September. This would be a move to counteract the chaos injected into China’s tech manufacturing by the coronavirus. A lot of Apple’s product assembly happens in China, so it is particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 disruption. 

impossible i think https://t.co/Q1qZpkHNsCJune 10, 2020

With no qualification to their comment, it’s difficult to tell why L0vertodream feels that July production for all four iPhone 12 models is “impossible”. But nations affected by COVID-19 are slowly making tentative steps into regaining a semblance of normality, so expecting tech manufacturing to be a full capacity as early as July might be ambitions. 

But Apple’s an ambitions company with a huge amount of financial clout and resources, so there’s a chance it could pull such a manufacturing turnaround out of the bag. We’ll have to keep looking into this for more clarity, but as it stands time will tell if all the iPhone 12 handsets will be ready for September or if a staggered launch will happen. 

It will be a phone worth waiting for as the leaks have pointed towards the iPhone 12 having a solid upgrade over the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. The two non-pro iPhone 12 handsets will come in 5.4-inch 6.1-inch sizes, with a pair of rear cameras sporting what’s likely to be wide and ultra-wide lenses, as well as 5G connectivity. 

The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are set to come in 6,1-inch and 6.7-inch screen sizes respectively, with these displays featuring 120Hz refresh-rate ProMotion tech and a trio of cameras on the rear providing wide, ultra-wide and telephoto lenses, as well as a LiDAR sensor. There’s a solid chance that the iPhone 12 could find itself in consideration for our pick of the best phones as the year draws on.