Apple’s 5G iPhone Reportedly Might Not Get Released In September As Originally Expected
In the aftermath of Qualcomm’s latest earnings report, it now appears that the 5G-compatible iPhone might be released a little later than usual. As reported by The Verge on Wednesday, the firm’s third-quarter report noted a “partial impact from the delay of a global 5G phone launch” when discussing its forecasts for its fourth fiscal quarter, which started this month.
While the chipmaker did not explicitly name any specific client, the above publication wrote that it was most likely referring to Apple, a company that typically debuts new handsets in early September and releases them about two weeks later. It was also pointed out that the iPhone is one of the few smartphones that would merit a mention on an earnings call due to its huge sales potential.
In an interview with Reuters, Qualcomm chief financial officer Akash Palkhiwala explained that the delays will likely be momentary and that “some of the units” might roll out during the December quarter. As such, The Verge predicted the slight delays might result in the 5G iPhone rolling out in October.
Qualcomm’s involvement in the upcoming iPhone line comes after Apple agreed to pay them a $4.5 billion settlement in 2019, thus ending a lengthy period of conflict between the two companies over patent issues. As part of this settlement, the chipmaker agreed to provide 5G modems for the Cupertino, California tech giant’s products, including this year’s iPhones, which would include four models that support the new connectivity standard, per 9to5Mac.
In addition to the aforementioned developments, previous reports have suggested that the new iPhone models — tentatively referred to by some outlets as the iPhone 12 series — might see their releases delayed by one to two months due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the publication added. However, if some recent rumors are to be believed, the new phones might indeed arrive at some point in October, along with this year’s new iPad models.
If Apple does indeed release its 5G-compatible iPhone in October, this won’t be the first time the company will wait more than two weeks before releasing a newly announced device. The iPhone X, which was the gadget maker’s flagship phone in 2017, was unveiled in September as normally scheduled but only hit stores two months later. Likewise, the iPhone XR was debuted alongside the higher-end iPhone XS and XS Max in September 2018, but unlike the other two devices, customers had to wait a month before it became available for purchase.
