The success of the iPhone 11 has prompted Apple to increase the production of its slate of smartphones by 10% during the first half of the year, but the outbreak of the coronavirus could hit its plans, according to reports.
Apple has booked orders for 80m iPhones between now and June, with the iPhone 11 and current models making up the vast majority of that output and around 15m slated for the new iPhone SE successor, which should arrive in March.
However, mass production might be delayed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, which has forced the Chinese government to shut down 14 cities to prevent the spread of infection.
If the situation improves in the coming days, then Apple may be able to start production as planned in the third week of February.
The coronavirus outbreak has already hit the stocks of major tech players in the US, with Apple retreating 3% on Monday due to fears about the potential for a global pandemic.
Apple heads into the Chinese New Year in a strong position after sales of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro surged in China, outselling last year’s models by some margin.
Bloomberg believes that iPhone sales could bounce back to growth in 2020 after a period of decline and that around 200m models could be shipped by the end of the year.
A note by Cowen analyst Krish Sankar on Tuesday also claimed that around 6m units of the budget-oriented iPhone, which could be called the iPhone 9, will be produced during Q1.
Reports last week claimed that Apple had already given the go-ahead for the low-cost iPhone to be assembled from February.
Sankar expects the new iPhone to retail from $475 when it goes on sale in the spring.