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'iPhone 12' announcement in October, 5G models ship in November claims report

Credit: Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsider

A supply chain report on Wednesday suggest that Apple's "iPhone 12" lineup could launch in October, with 5G models shipping in November.

The release timetable report is derived from sources within Apple's supply chain in China, who claim that the ongoing COVID-19 crisis may have pushed back original plans to launch the "iPhone 12" in September.

Those supply chain sources told Japanese site Mac Otakara that the "iPhone 12" lineup will be announced in the "latter half of October." While 4G LTE models will become available soon after, 5G variants may not launch until November, the sources said.

Mac Otakara doesn't have a perfect track record of information about Apple's specific product details, but its supply chain sources have proven themselves accurate in the past.

Earlier in 2020, well-connected TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that supply chain problems were casting doubt on the idea of a September "iPhone 12" ship date. That prediction was based on delays in Apple's testing and engineering verification phases.

On June 1, Taiwanese outlet DigiTimes reported that production of the upcoming iPhone models was kicking off a bit later than usual in July. Nikkei Asian Review also suggested back in March that Apple was mulling pushing back the launch timeline due to concerns about demand.

Although Apple typically announces and launches new iPhone models in September, a November launch isn't that usual. The iPhone X, for example, was debuted at Apple's keynote in September 2017 but didn't ship until November.