Apple Expected to Stockpile 5G iPhones in Advance Due to Concerns Over Possible Component Shortages

Apple is expected to build up inventories of its upcoming 5G iPhones in advance due to concerns over possible component shortages amid the global health crisis, according to sources cited by the Nikkei Asian Review.

iPhone 12 5G New 1
An excerpt from the report:

Apple has notified several of its suppliers that it plans to make about 213 million iPhones in the 12 months through March 2021, up 4% from the same period a year ago, despite some suppliers' belief that orders could end up being significantly lower, Nikkei has learned.

The report claims that production of current models like the new iPhone SE and the upcoming 5G models will be split nearly 50-50.

Apple plans to release four 5G-enabled iPhones later this year, including one 5.4-inch model, two 6.1-inch models, and one 6.7-inch model, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and other sources. All four models are expected to feature OLED displays, flatter edges like the iPhone 5 or the 2018 and later iPad Pro, and a smaller notch.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
Apple Pay Walmart Feature

Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today. A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
iOS 18

Apple Expected to Release iOS 18.3 Next Week With These New Features

Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3. Notification Summary Changes Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries Apple Intelligence...
truecaller

Truecaller iOS Update Rolls Out Real-Time Caller ID Support

Wednesday January 22, 2025 2:07 am PST by
Popular caller ID app Truecaller is rolling out an update that brings real-time caller ID support to its iOS subscribers. Apple introduced Live Caller ID Lookup in iOS 18, allowing third-party caller ID apps to securely retrieve information about a caller from their servers, hence today's Truecaller update. iPhone users can enable the Live Caller ID Lookup feature by going to Settings ➝ ...
ipad pro 2024

New iPad Pro Reportedly Launching This Year

Tuesday January 21, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple plans to release at least one new iPad Pro model this year, according to a supplier-focused report today from Korean website The Elec. It is likely that the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models would be updated simultaneously. After receiving an OLED display last year, the report said the iPad Pro will receive only "minor" changes this year. Overall, the next iPad Pro is expected to...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Launching This Year With These New Features

Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device. The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...

Top Rated Comments

clayj Avatar
62 months ago
Let me know when Apple moves its iPhone manufacturing out of China -- preferably to the US, but really any other country will do.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
m0sher Avatar
62 months ago

Because of health and privacy concerns, I'm not going to support 5G.
That’s false info. Don’t believe that conspiracy stuff.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ksec Avatar
62 months ago
Just a reminder Nikkei Asian Review has very little / poor track record of anything Apple.

They are much more likely to stockpile *component* rather then the assembled iPhone
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
62 months ago

Makes no sense, why stockpile when economic situation gets better later.
This is ridiculous
Tim Cook is the Sage of Supply Chain. I’m going with his judgment.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
62 months ago
If they're having trouble storing any overflow, I'd be more than happy to hold on to a few.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Textime Avatar
62 months ago

Let me know when Apple moves its iPhone manufacturing out of China -- preferably to the US, but really any other country will do.
We must become independent from China - Europe included, especially Germany
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)