Early iPhone 13?
Last year’s iPhone 12 series saw both a delayed announce date of October 13 (typically September 20) and a further delayed release date for the iPhone 12 Mni and the Pro Max, which were released on November 13, 2020, 20 days after the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro. While the December quarter was still a record for overall Apple (AAPL) iPhone sales, which included previous models, a normal selling period could have boosted sales further. We expect this year’s iPhone 13 will be back to the typical release date and possibly sooner.
The delay last year was based on a suppose number of issues, with Taiwan Semiconductor, Apple’s foundry for the A14 bionic processor that is the basis for the iPhone 12 family, and last minute 5G antennae module changes, which meant requalification. This year however, while there have been rumors that Apple has reduced some component orders during 2Q, for the existing iPhone, there have been a number of component suppliers who have hinted that they are getting ready to begin component production in June , which would indicate a return to Apple’s more normal iPhone release schedule.
Some of the component suppliers have indicated upcoming changes to cameras and it is well expected that some of the new iPhones will have a 120Hz. refresh rate, which implies an LTPO backplane, supplied by Samsung Display, LG Display, and possibly BOE (200725.CH), but most important would be TSM’s production schedule for the A15, Apple’s upgrade to the current A14 processor. Apple has contracted much of TSM’s 5nm capacity and expectations are for processor production to begin in May, which would fit with a more normal release schedule. While we have seen stories about how any number of potential component suppliers are gearing up to become part of the iPhone 13 supply chain, we take those more as expectations rather than actual order based expansion, but all in, it seems that Apple is back on schedule for a normal iPhone release this year and if they can produce as popular a device as it seems the iPhone 12 seems to be, they could set some new records again this year.
The delay last year was based on a suppose number of issues, with Taiwan Semiconductor, Apple’s foundry for the A14 bionic processor that is the basis for the iPhone 12 family, and last minute 5G antennae module changes, which meant requalification. This year however, while there have been rumors that Apple has reduced some component orders during 2Q, for the existing iPhone, there have been a number of component suppliers who have hinted that they are getting ready to begin component production in June , which would indicate a return to Apple’s more normal iPhone release schedule.
Some of the component suppliers have indicated upcoming changes to cameras and it is well expected that some of the new iPhones will have a 120Hz. refresh rate, which implies an LTPO backplane, supplied by Samsung Display, LG Display, and possibly BOE (200725.CH), but most important would be TSM’s production schedule for the A15, Apple’s upgrade to the current A14 processor. Apple has contracted much of TSM’s 5nm capacity and expectations are for processor production to begin in May, which would fit with a more normal release schedule. While we have seen stories about how any number of potential component suppliers are gearing up to become part of the iPhone 13 supply chain, we take those more as expectations rather than actual order based expansion, but all in, it seems that Apple is back on schedule for a normal iPhone release this year and if they can produce as popular a device as it seems the iPhone 12 seems to be, they could set some new records again this year.
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