Apple’s ban on its engineers from travelling to Asia due to the persistent fear of the deadly coronavirus outbreak has affected the development of iPhone 12, which could result in delayed fall launch, reports stated.
As per a report on Macrumors, the tech giant has extended its deadline by one month to the end of April to abolish the travel restrictions preventing its engineers from making business trips to Asia. Due to these restrictions the engineering verification tests (EVTs) for the 5G iPhones have also been delayed. These tests are usually held in facilities based in China.
Apple’s travel restrictions were first reported late last month.
Meanwhile, leading contract electronics maker Foxconn has resumed its production at its major manufacturing base at Zhengzhou in China’s Henan province.
Foxconn’s production in the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone had slowed due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in January, affecting the international supply chain.
The Cupertino based firm had said in February that its revenue for the current quarter would be below its forecasts and that the worldwide iPhone supply “will be temporarily constrained” because of the consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic.
(With input from agencies)