Apple iPhone 12 Max & 12 Pro to enter production in July; other 5G models to follow

The iPhone 12 & 12 Pro Max might launch at an even later date

DigiTimes claims (via MacRumors) in a report today that production for both the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Max and 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro is scheduled to start in July-August. That is around one month behind the typical Apple schedule and, therefore, corroborates the countless rumors of a later launch.

The 5.4-inch iPhone 12 and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max, on the other hand, are not expected to reach production until later in the year. A specific timeline was not provided by DigiTimes, but August-September seems pretty likely at this stage.

Buyers should expect a staggered release as a result. The iPhone 12 Max and iPhone 12 Pro should be made available to purchase in October but the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro Max might not be ready until November.

Apple previously adopted staggered launch timelines in 2017 and 2018 with the iPhone X and iPhone XR, which were respectively delayed until early November and late October. This year would be the first time in almost a decade that the company has pushed back all devices, though.

You can blame the new OLED displays

As was the case with the iPhone X and iPhone XR delays, the updated displays on the standard iPhone 12 and high-end iPhone 12 Pro Max are reportedly the reason for their later release schedules.

Whereas the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Max and iPhone 12 Pro feature a separate touchscreen circuitry layer that can easily be sourced from suppliers, the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max are expected to use Y-OCTA technology.

The latter removes the need for a dedicated layer by allowing the touchscreen circuitry to be directly patterned on the OLED panel. The benefits include a thinner panel and lower costs, but it seems the change has slowed down production slightly.

Some reports claim the 5.4-inch and 6.7-inch displays are both manufactured by Samsung but tipster Jon Prosser believes the smaller OLED screen is actually manufactured by Chinese company BOE. That is reportedly how Apple intends to keep costs down.

Regardless, both panels are expected to represent big improvements over their respective iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro equivalents thanks to more accurate colors, thinner bezels, and a possibly 120Hz ProMotion tech on the larger panel.

Expect 5G, 128GB of storage, and iOS14

Aside from the visual changes, which should also include an iPhone 4-like flat frame, Apple is planning several internal upgrades for its 2020 flagship iPhone lineup that will allow them to better compete with Android devices.

Leading the way will be the upcoming A14 Bionic chipset that’s expected to integrate a 5G modem as standard. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Max should offer Sub-6GHz support whereas the Pro models may also include mmWave tech that improves connectivity in dense urban areas.

The entire iPhone 12 series reportedly offers 128GB of internal storage as standard. MicroSD cards are not supported, as per usual, but 256GB variants should be available to buyers. A 512GB option is also on the way for the Pro models.

Completing the package looks set to be 4GB of RAM inside the iPhone 12 and 6GB of RAM inside the iPhone 12 Pro. That’ll be paired with iOS 14 straight, an update that is planned to debut in late June at WWDC.