iPhone 12 Volume Production Set to Begin Next Month: Digitimes

A new report says that Apple has nearly finished testing the new iPhone 12, and that volume production will being next month.

Piggy-backing on its earlier report alleging that Apple might need to push back the launch of its first 5G-capable iPhone to October, Taiwanese trade publication Digitimes yesterday said that mass production of the device will start in July.

According to the paywalled report, the next iPhone is currently undergoing the second phase of engineering validation and testing, a process used on prototypes to verify that the design meets pre-determined specifications and design goals.

Barring any last-minute hiccups, the Cupertino company’s contract manufacturers are expected to kick off the assembly process for the iPhone 12 lineup in July.

“Apple is expected to complete its second-phase engineering validation and testing (EVT 2) for its upcoming 5G iPhone series by the end of June, paving the way for volume production in July,” reads the report citing industry sources.

In May, Jon Prosser noted that Apple might be considering delaying the announcement of the iPhone 12 until October, and recently Broadcom, one of Apple’s key iPhone suppliers told analysts that a it was expecting delays in revenue due to a “major product cycle delay” from a “large North America mobile phone” customer.

Whilst Apple’s supply chain has mostly recovered from the impact of COVID-19, travel restrictions to China have prevented Apple’s engineers from traveling to the country to make key engineering decisions about prototypes and design, setting back the process by about two months.