Apple PCB orders for iPhone SE2 postponed due to coronavirus

The launch of Apple’s upgraded entry-level iPhone SE2 has been pushed back from this month into the second quarter

Orders for the printed circuit boards (PCBs) for Apple's upcoming iPhone SE2 have been postponed due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

As a result, the device won't be launched this month, as originally expected before the extent of the outbreak become known. The coronavirus outbreak forced the extended closure of factories in China, where much of Apple's hardware supply-chain resides. Business in China typically closes down for around a week for the New Year celebrations, but in many regions remained closed long afterwards in a bid to contain the outbreak.

That's according to Taiwanese electronics industry newspaper Digitimes, citing sources at Zhen Ding Technology, the manufacturer believed to have been contracted to supply PCBs for the Apple iPhone SE2.

While many manufacturers in China have been hit hard as a result of widespread shutdowns and draconian quarantines, Zhen Ding is expecting better than usual revenues in the second quarter and has reported that its factory capacity utilisation has reached around 80 per cent.

Back in January, it was reported that Apple was planning to put a new budget iPhone, the iPhone SE2, into production the following month.

According to Bloomberg, the new iPhone is expected to be similar in size to the 4.7-inch iPhone 8 that Apple launched back in 2017. It may sport the same processor as the iPhone 11, while also having touch ID built into the home button (instead of Face ID), a single-lens rear camera, thick top and bottom bezels, and 3GB RAM.

The ultimate assembly work for the new device will be divided among Wistron, Pegatron and Foxconn.

At the same time, it has also been reported that Apple's next-generation iPad Pro will use the upcoming Apple A13X microprocessors, a CPU sporting more than 10 billion transistors, according to Chinese newspaper Henan China. The chip will be built on TSMC's 7nm process architecture using TSMC's extreme ultra-violet lithography (EUV).