Q4 guidance cites reduced shipments because of ‘the delay of a global 5G flagship phone launch’<\/b>
\nWe continue to gather shards of evidence around Apple\u2019s upcoming iPhone 12 plans, so fresh statements from Qualcomm CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, add to the speculation. While announcing flat revenues, the company has managed to maintain its business during the pandemic, but Mollenkopf warned fourth quarter guidance might be impacted by a delayed product launch. \u201cOur guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 includes an impact of greater than ($0.25) to EPS attributable to a planning assumption of an approximate 15% year-over-year reduction in handset shipments due to COVID-19, including a partial impact from the delay of a global 5G flagship phone launch,\u201d he said in a press release. \u201cIt\u2019s very likely to be Apple,\u201d Moor Insights & Strategy analyst, Anshel Sag said. What\u2019s important to note is that Qualcomm\u2019s comment doesn\u2019t favor the idea of a lengthy delay to the product\u2019s introduction, just a \u2018partial impact\u2019. This suggests that the device will still appear in 2020, but that its usually predictable on sale date may slip slightly. That\u2019s completely in line with recent market rumors, as discussed here and reprised below: The accumulating series of claims strongly suggest delay. The most likely set of events is that Apple will introduce the device at an online event in September, but ship the device later than usual, or stagger the release of the new models. If it does so it will understandably cite the impact of COVID-19 as the cause of the delay. It is thought the pandemic made product development and manufacturing design challenging as key staff were unable to travel. Apple\u2019s new devices are expected to include two cheaper 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch models and two higher-end devices with 6.1- and 6.7-inch displays, the latter with larger batteries and a much-improved camera, including 3x optical zoom. But by far the most significant enhancement is expected to be the introduction of 5G… I\u2019m on record for believing 5G won\u2019t be that important to most consumers until 2022, by which time infrastructure roll out should be more universally available and new generations of high bandwidth mobile services should be available. That\u2019s also when you can reasonably expect that many PCs, Macs and tablets will include 5G chips, enabling serious improvements in mobile productivity.5G deployment is taking place at different rates worldwide. In China it is already very advanced (and is probably one of a number of reasons Huawei eclipsed both Samsung and Apple in Chinese smartphone sales in the last quarter). Meanwhile, it\u2019s Qualcomm\u2019s game.: \u201cAs 5G continues to roll out, we are realizing the benefits of the investments we have made in building the most extensive licensing program in mobile and are turning the technical challenges of 5G into leadership opportunities and commercial wins,\u201d said Mollenkopf. The need to move to 5G has already driven Apple to purchase Intel\u2019s modem business and reach a deal ending litigation with Qualcomm, but it is not expected to ship its own 5G modems until 2021 at the absolute earliest.<\/p>\n