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Apple’s main iPhone supplier in Asia expects to reach its “full seasonal capacity” by the end of March. And that’s potentially a positive development not only for Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., or Foxconn as it is better known, but for Apple, which last month lowered its guidance for the current financial quarter in the wake of the disruptive impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China and the hit to the company’s supply chain.
“Prevention of outbreak, resumption of work and production are our top priority,” Hon Hai chairman Liu Young-Way told an online investor conference on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
Foxconn reported in a stock exchange filing that as of today, seasonal production is already back up to 50%.
But the company cautioned in the filing that there’s still plenty uncertainty which could impact full-year results and affect such critical long-term catalysts as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and 5G.
What the immediate impact will be on iPhone production isn’t clear.
Neither Apple nor Foxconn has responded to a USA TODAY request for comment.
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Separately, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of Taiwan-based TF International Securities, who closely watches the Apple supply chain, said in a research note that the coronavirus has not had much of an effect on the research and development efforts with mini-LED displays and that Apple is currently developing six mini-LED support products, some we might see this year.
The roadmap includes a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, a 27-inch iMac Pro, a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro (upgraded from 13.3 inches), a 16-inch MacBook Pro, a 10.2-inch iPad and a 7.9-inch iPad mini. Kuo indicated that “the visibility for commercialization” of such products has even exceeded expectations.
Still unknown is whether Apple, as had previously been rumored, will unveil a new budget iPhone, a sequel to the since discontinued iPhone SE, this month.
Email: [email protected]; Follow @edbaig on Twitter
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