iPhone SE 2 might be delayed thanks to Coronavirus, iPhone 11 scaled back too

We were expecting the anticipated iPhone SE 2 to launch around March 2020, but it looks like that date might be pushed back thanks to that haunting spectre that beckoned 2020 in – Coronavirus.

That's according to Nikkei, an Asian business website which published a report based on information from suppliers, suggesting the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus may affect Apple's factories and their production. 

Apparently, Apple had placed orders for 65 million older iPhones (mainly the iPhone 11 series), and also 15 million iPhone SE 2 models, but suppliers think Coronavirus will complicate this.

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iPhone 12 not affected

It's not expected that this will affect iPhone 12 production, but the iPhone SE 2 could be released later to give Apple enough time to produce all these phones. In addition, you might find fewer iPhone 11 series phones on store shelves for a while.

The Novel Coronavirus outbreak was first reported in December 2019 in the Hubei province of China, which is in central China. This borders on the Henan province, where one of Apple's main manufacturing plants is. The other large production plant is in Guangdong, in south-east China, but as a very populous province the virus is prone to spreading quicker there.

Although the Hubei province was quickly locked down, cases of Novel Coronavirus have been reported in countries around the world and over a hundred people have died of the illness (as of writing), so it's clear that the virus could have an effect on production in a nearby province. 

Coronavirus is a serious health threat, so containing the outbreak and protecting a workforce is far more important than making more smartphones.

Bear in mind for now the March iPhone SE 2 release date is only a rumor, so if the month comes and goes without any hint of an affordable iPhone, it isn't necessarily because of this virus outbreak. But if that was the date Apple had penciled in the calendar for a launch event, it's likely scrambling for an eraser right about now.

• New iPhone SE 2 price needs to be incredibly low to stay relevant in 2020

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