Skip to main content

Apple’s iPhone 12 is still on track to launch in September

The fall is a busy time for phone makers as Apple, Samsung, and Google usually launch new devices a couple of months before the holiday season hits. The coronavirus pandemic put these plans in question, as the many links in the manufacturing, assembly, and delivery supply chain were significantly weakened. Apple seems poised to recover quickly and may be able to deliver shipments of its next iPhone 12 sometime in September, according to an analyst note from Daniel Ives at Wedbush.

If any phone company has the leadership to handle this crisis, it’s Apple. While Steve Jobs was known as an innovator and creator, his successor Tim Cook previously led Apple’s tight supply chains and established Apple’s industry-leading distribution efficiency. Phones launching in the fall time frame should have been finalized and ready for manufacture by the early summer, so it is impressive to read reports in late June that Apple has managed to surmount the crisis that has been disrupting work for four months.

Recommended Videos

Rumors point to four separate iPhone models or SKUs, and the next iPhone will feature 5G technology, according to Wedbush. Only iPhones available on U.S. carriers will get the high-frequency mmWave 5G networking, currently in use primarily on Verizon. That makes sense because the rollout of mmWave networks has been very slow and highly localized to crowded spaces. Apple has been cautious in the past about adopting new network technology. The iPhone jumped onto 4G LTE networks after most other major manufacturer flagships were offering LTE support; Samsung sold LTE-capable Galaxy devices for almost a year before Apple’s iPhone supported the network.

Wedbush predicts a surge for Apple pushed along by “5G tailwinds.” Ives sees pent-up demand for an iPhone upgrade, and most of that demand will come from China. The Chinese market could account for 20% of the next round of iPhone upgrade customers. The company currently has a market cap value of $1.5 trillion, and it could be on track to become the first-ever $2 trillion company in 2021.

There is no date set for new Apple announcements, and Apple usually holds events in early September, after Samsung announces its fall lineup of Galaxy Note and Galaxy Fold devices.

Philip Berne
Former Digital Trends Contributor
The iPhone 17 will reportedly get a new type of Wi-Fi chip
A person using the Apple iPhone 16 Plus.

By this time next year, Apple may have installed its own in-house Wi-Fi chips in all of its phones, or at least one of them.

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known analyst with a trusted record, Apple is working on its own Wi-Fi chips to replace the current ones from Broadcom, but there's not a firm timeline on when they'll arrive (via MacRumors). He says the iPhone 17 Pro might come equipped with this new chip, but other sources suggest it won't get widespread adoption until the iPhone 18.

Read more
How to fast charge your iPhone
iPhone 12 Mini with charger

While they may not be some of the longest-lasting smartphones on the market, modern iPhones boast more than respectable battery life that should be able to get you through an entire day's use without breaking too much of a sweat. Of course, that assumes a lot of things — including a battery that's still relatively new and in good health, plus a usage pattern that doesn't include all-day streaming or gaming.

But for some people, overnight charging isn't going to cut it, and you'll want to get your battery topped up again as quickly as you can so you can get back in action. Thankfully, every iPhone released in the past six years supports much faster charging, but the downside is that with very few exceptions, Apple has never supplied you with the right adapter to get the best possible charging speeds from your iPhone.

Read more
5 phones you should buy instead of the iPhone 16
Someone holding the iPhone 16.

Apple’s iPhone 16 has arrived, and it’s quite an impressive offering this year. Not only does it come in some of the best colors we’ve seen in a while, but it closes the gap between the base and Pro models even more.

That's all to say the iPhone 16 is a fantastic phone, but if you’re thinking about buying it as your next smartphone purchase, you should also consider some of these alternatives.
iPhone 16 Plus

Read more