Apple supplier Broadcom suggests new iPhone launch will be delayed
- Broadcom chief executive Tan Hock Eng discussed a ‘major product cycle delay’ at a ‘large North American mobile phone’ customer, referring to Apple
- Disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is delaying the new iPhone release this year
Broadcom, a chip maker that supplies Apple and other large electronics companies, suggested the latest iPhones will be launched later than usual this year.
Tan Hock Eng, chief executive of Broadcom, discussed a “major product cycle delay” at a “large North American mobile phone” customer, during an earnings conference call with analysts on Thursday. Tan often refers to Apple that way.
This time, he said the delay will mean the bump in wireless revenue experienced by Broadcom will happen one quarter later than usual this year. The San Jose, California-based company makes chips that filter radio signals in iPhones and other smartphones.
“We are in,” Tan said, referring to Broadcom components in the iPhone. “The question is timing.”
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“This year, we do not expect to see this uptick in revenue until our fourth fiscal quarter,” Tan said. “So accordingly, we expect, our wireless revenue in Q3 will be down sequentially.”
Apple is planning to release its next iPhone line multiple weeks later than usual, Bloomberg News previously reported. Apple typically unveils its new iPhones in the second half of September, but has occasionally, like in the case of the iPhone X in 2017, launched major new models later in the year.
slowed Apple engineer travel to China to finalise the devices and required employees to mostly work from home in the early months of this year.
Broadcom, which said revenue in its fiscal second quarter ended March rose 4 per cent to US$5.74 billion, gave a lacklustre forecast amid weak demand for smartphone parts. With much of the world’s population confined to their homes because of the pandemic, smartphone demand has dropped.
The company expected revenue in the three months ended in July will be US$5.75 billion, plus or minus US$150 million. That compares with an average analyst prediction of US$5.77 billion, according to data compiled earlier on Thursday by Bloomberg.
Broadcom, one of the latest to report earnings in the technology sector, saw its stock drop 1 per cent in extended trading. Its shares closed at US$308.89 earlier in New York.
Tan assembled the company in a string of acquisitions, giving its products a role in everything from powerful data centre networking gear to smartphones.
