Cheap iPhone ‘delayed by months’ as insiders warn coronavirus will make it miss March release

Phone prices are getting absolutely ridiculous but a rumoured cheaper iPhone could now be even further away than first thought.

A cheap new iPhone rumoured to launch at the end of March could be delayed by months, insiders have warned.

The so-called iPhone 9 is expected to be much cheaper than the $1199 iPhone 11 – but its release could be hampered by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Apple hasn’t confirmed the iPhone 9’s existence, but rumours about a March 31 launch have been circulating for weeks.

Industry insiders have repeatedly predicted that the handset will give buyers on a budget the opportunity to own a new iPhone.

The cheaper iPhone is rumoured to be based on the iPhone 8 but with more up-to-date internals. Picture: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP

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But Apple uses Chinese factories for iPhone parts and assembly, and the coronavirus outbreak is causing chaos for these suppliers.

Now the Bank of America has warned that the new iPhone 9 will likely be delayed “by a few months”.

The note, seen by Bloomberg, warns of delays that could mean we won’t see the iPhone 9 until June or July.

Insiders blame “both supply issues as well as the weaker demand environment from COVID-19”.

It’s possible that the device may still be announced on March 31, but that the phone won’t be released for a while.

Alternatively, the phone could still launch in stores on time – but with stock shortages.

In any case, we do know that Apple’s business is being impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The coronavirus is believed to have originated in China’s Hubei province.

That’s near to the Henan and Guandong provinces, which are home to major Apple suppliers.

More than 2000 cases of coronavirus have been recorded in those provinces alone.

The rumoured cheaper iPhone looks set to use the same philosophy as the iPhone SE, which put an iPhone 6S processor in an old iPhone 5S body. Picture: Josh Edelson/AFP

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The current infection rate stands at more than 80,000, the overwhelming majority of which are in China.

But the number of infections in western countries has risen in recent weeks, including in Australia, the UK and US.

Apple chief Tim Cook recently warned that the firm expected supply delays and shortages.

But Apple hasn’t officially said that upcoming iPhone models will be pushed back.

This week, we saw reports of Apple warning staff members about a shortage of replacement iPhone units.

This article originally appeared on The Sunand was reproduced with permission