The Coronavirus Is Affecting Everything from Airlines to the iPhone - HISTORY WAVE

The Coronavirus Is Affecting Everything from Airlines to the iPhone

Apple says the deadly virus could lead to delays—but that's obviously the least of the world's worries.

IMAGE COURTESY OF APPLE

• According to a report in Japan's Nikkei Asian Review, Apple's planned hike in iPhone and AirPods production is facing "massive uncertainties" due to the Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China.
• Production of a new, cheap iPhone, rumored to be called the iPhone SE2, was supposed to take place during the third week of February. An Apple exec said that this schedule is now unclear due to the outbreak.
• Foxconn, which produces the iPhone in China, said it would not be closing any factories in the country and that it was "closely monitoring" the Wuhan coronavirus spread.

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Next month, Apple had planned to ramp up production of its cheap successor to the iPhone SE—variously referred to as iPhone 9 and iPhone SE2—by up to 10 percent. Then, the devastating, tragic, SARS-like Coronavirus broke out across Wuhan, China, putting the tech company's Asian production facilities in a bind. Now, executives tell Nikkei Asian Review the company's production schedule is facing "massive uncertainties."

Obviously, this is the least of the world's worries.