Apple has reportedly asked its suppliers to ship up to 75 million units of its upcoming 5G iPhone variants in 2020, claims a Bloomberg report citing insiders in the Apple supply chain. According to the report, Apple has continued to retain strong demand for its iPhones, iPads and MacBooks as people continue to work from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While initial reports had suggested that Apple expects a weak year due to the economic impact of Covid-19, the company has seen a surge instead, hitting record market valuation earlier last month. Now, Apple seemingly expects 75 million 5G iPhone units from its suppliers, and Foxconn, its main supplier in China, is believed to have sent out worker recruitment notices for its factories in Zhengzhou, China – the hot seat of Apple iPhone manufacturing.
Apple’s first 5G iPhones, naturally called iPhone 12, are expected to be launched in four variants. Each of these variants will offer the latest generation of connectivity, but differ primarily in screen sizes and camera configurations. So far, reports have suggested that the 5G iPhone 12 will all feature OLED displays, and have four screen sizes – a 5.4-inch iPhone 12, two 6.1-inch iPhones (iPhone 12 Plus and iPhone 12 Pro), and the largest, 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max. The new displays will reportedly come with ProMotion branding, which will offer 120Hz fast refresh rates – a feature that is already on offer in rival smartphones.
However, analysts and industry watchers had remained cautious in the past weeks, stating that the upgrade to 5G connectivity, better cameras and OLED displays, as well as a new chassis design, would mean that the iPhone 12 lineup may cost more than its predecessors, the iPhone 11. This led to rumours that Apple may consider postponing the launch of the iPhone 12, or postpone the launch of 5G iPhones altogether to at least 2021. The reason behind such reports was the economic impact of Covid-19, which unnamed sources claimed had made Apple wary of market conditions – in which the 5G iPhones may fail to make an impact.
Now, however, it appears that Apple remains bullish on the market performance of the upcoming 5G iPhones. The new generation of 5G iPhones may also be priced competitively in adjustment to market conditions, and it will be interesting to see if Apple manages to meet its sales targets in 2020. Apple is also expected to open its own store in India for the first time, where until date it depended on third party retailers to sell its iPhones.
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