Apple Weighs 5G iPhone Delay, Nikkei Says; Shares Fall

(Bloomberg) -- Apple is weighing a delay on the release of its 5G iPhone as the coronavirus threatens to sap demand and disrupt its product-development schedule, Nikkei reports, citing three unnamed people familiar with the matter.

• The company has held internal discussions on a possible delay of “months,” Nikkei says, citing the three people
• Issues with the supply chain also could push back the phone’s release, Nikkei says, citing unnamed supply-chain sources
• “Supply chain constraint aside, Apple is concerned that the current situation would significantly lower consumer appetite to upgrade their phones, which could lead to a tame reception of the first 5G iPhone,” Nikkei quotes a source with direct knowledge of the discussion as saying
• Apple may not know an exact timetable for the launch until California’s shelter-in-place order has lifted, one source says; another says Apple is likely to make a final decision around May
• Apple declines to comment to Nikkei
• Apple’s shares fall about 0.6%

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