Nikkei: Apple’s foldable iPhone faces engineering setbacks; initial shipments may be delayed by several months

Apple

Phoenix Net Technology reported from Beijing time on April 7: According to Nikkei Asia, Apple ran into setbacks during the engineering testing phase of its first foldable iPhone, which could delay its mass production and product shipment plans.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the matter say the issues the foldable iPhone faces in engineering development are more complicated than Apple expected, and resolving these problems will take more time. In the worst case, the shipment of the first batch of products could be delayed by several months.

Nikkei Asia learned that a small number of component suppliers have received notifications that the component production schedule for the foldable iPhone may be pushed back.

Apple and its suppliers are working to address these issues, because shipment plan delays could affect the marketing strategy Apple has laid out for the long-awaited foldable-screen smartphone.

“During the early pilot production stage, there were indeed more problems than expected, which requires additional time to address them and make the necessary adjustments. The current situation may affect the mass production timeline. April will be a critical stage for engineering verification testing, and the period from this month to early May is especially important.” A source with knowledge of the matter said.

Another source with knowledge of the matter said that the potential schedule delays are not related to component and material shortages, but rather to engineering challenges Apple has encountered with its first foldable iPhone.

The source said: “Apple and its supply chain are moving forward under a tight timeline, and at present, the solutions are not yet sufficient to fully resolve these engineering challenges—it will still take more time.”

Every new iPhone model must go through a series of carefully planned stages in order to ship on schedule at the end of September. These stages include: new product introduction, engineering verification testing, development verification testing, production verification testing, pilot production, and mass production.

Different verification testing stages involve thousands to hundreds of thousands of test iPhones, enabling Apple and its suppliers to identify and resolve any engineering or design issues, and to refine manufacturing processes so that tens of millions of phones can be produced smoothly and efficiently.

According to Nikkei Asia’s supply-chain survey conducted through industry executives and market experts, Apple plans to produce about 7 million to 8 million foldable iPhones in its first batch. Apple has high hopes for the iPhone it will release this year, and expects its first foldable product to also boost demand across the entire product line.

The foldable iPhone will account for less than 10% of the planned first-batch production volume of Apple’s new iPhone models this year. Even so, the supply chain hopes for strong sales performance, because launching a product with a completely new design like this requires a comprehensive overhaul of the devices, materials, and components—an outcome that, in turn, will bring suppliers higher profit margins.

As of the time of publication, Apple has not commented on this. (Author / Xiao Yu)

(责任编辑：刘静 HZ010)

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