Apple's iPhone 12 still scheduled for a fall launch, report says

Apple still plans to launch new iPhones in the fall, in line with its typical yearly schedule, a new report from Bloomberg claims. This is despite the coronavirus outbreak which has slowed down manufacturing across the globe and forced Apple to temporarily shut down all its retail stores outside of China.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the report says that the next iPhone — likely equipped with 5G and called iPhone 12 — is on schedule to launch in the fall, since mass production isn't starting until the summer.

This is partly in contrast with a recent report from Nikkei, which claimed that Apple is considering delaying the launch by "months," partly due to supply chain constraints, and partly due to the possibility of sales being slow. Nikkei's report did, however, note that it's still early and that Apple's plans may change before the launch. A recent Reuters report said Apple has postponed the production ramp-up for the new 5G phones, but also said that it's "possible" these phones might launch in the fall.

Bloomberg's report focuses on Foxconn, a giant Chinese company that's Apple's most important manufacturing partner. But the outlet notes that iPhone production depends on other partners of Apple's supply chain, and that disruptions elsewhere might postpone the launch.

Another Apple device hangs in the balance these days. The company was rumored to be launching an affordable iPhone in March, possibly called iPhone SE 2 or iPhone 9. We've seen conflicting reports on this launch, with some saying it's going on as planned and others saying it's likely to be delayed. In any case, there's only two days left in March, so we'll find out soon enough.

COVID-19 — the disease caused by coronavirus — has so far killed more than 30,000 and infected more than 638,000 people. The outbreak has been worsening in the U.S. in recent weeks, with more than 139,700 confirmed cases and 2,429 deaths.