Qualcomm today shared its third quarter earnings report and hinted that Apple's upcoming 5G iPhones could be delayed, according to Reuters. Qualcomm said its fourth quarter projections might be impacted by the "delay of a global 5G flagship phone launch."
From Qualcomm CFO Akash Palkhiwala, who referred to the delay as "slight":
"We're seeing a partial impact from the delay of a flagship phone launch. And so what we've seen is a slight delay that pushes some of the units out from the September quarter to the December quarter for us."
The fourth quarter covers July, August, and September, and September is typically the month when Apple launches new smartphones. Given the release timelines of other smartphones and Apple's size, it's unlikely that Qualcomm is referring to a different smartphone launch, even though Qualcomm declined to name Apple or the iPhone.
Apple is using Qualcomm's 5G chips in its iPhone 12 lineup, and all models are expected to support 5G technology. There have been multiple rumors indicating Apple's iPhone launch will be delayed this year due to the ongoing global health crisis and restrictions on travel.
So far, rumors have indicated that iPhones could be delayed by about a month, which suggests a launch in October rather than September. It's not clear if all iPhones will be delayed, or if some models will come out in September while others launch in October or later.
Apple is still likely to unveil the new iPhones in September as it usually does, launching the devices later in the year. There is precedent for a launch that's uncoupled from an announcement. In 2018, Apple debuted the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, with the two more expensive iPhones launching in September and the XR coming later in October.
We're expecting a total of four iPhones in 5.4, 6.1, and 6.7-inch sizes in 2020, with more details available in our iPhone 12 roundup.
