The week kicks off with rumors that the 2012 iPhone 12 will start with 128GB of storage, Apple plans to build a new plant in Taiwain and expand its manufacturing presence in India.
According to reliable Apple leaker Jon Prosser, the iPhone 12 line-up with start with 128GB of storage — twice as much as is now offered. He says that the 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch iPhone 12 models will be available with 128GB or 256GB of storage and that 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro models will have 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options. All four models are expected to feature OLED displays, 5G support, and a faster A14 chip.
The Sellers Research Group (that’s me), says there’s a 100% chance that this rumor is true. Even with online storage and iCloud, there’s a need for more storage in Apple’s smartphones with everyone using the devices as camera and camcorders, as well as phones.
Speaking of Apple devices, there’s a rumor that a 14-inch MacBook Pro, which was anticipated by some pundits for a 2020 release, will arrive next year. I think there’s a 50% chance this will happen, depending on when Apple decides to release Macs equipped with its own ARM processors.
Moving on, ccording to Focus Taiwan, Apple plans to expand its investment in Taiwan by building a new plant in the Longtan section of Hsinchu Science Park, northern Taiwan, to make mini-LED and micro LED displays.
Again, I think this makes perfect sense (at least the mini-LED part). In December 2019, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple would launch a 16-inch MacBook Pro and 12.9-inch iPad Pro with mini-LED displays in the second half of 2020 (although the table may have been pushed to next year). They would be be among four to six products with such displays, he added.
Mini-LEDs sport a local dimming function with a contrast effect similar to that of OLED displays. However, on some product lines, costs for mini-LED backlit displays may even be lower than their OLED counterparts, according to LEDinside. Mini-LED products are as thin as those using OLED technology so they consume less power than traditional LED screens, and they cost 70-80% less to produce than OLED displays, although their performance is similar
Meanwhile, The Indian Economic Times says that Apple senior executives and top ranking government officials in India have been meeting for months over the possibility of the tech giant shifting nearly a fifth of its production capacity from China to India and scaling up its local manufacturing revenues, through its contract manufacturers.
The article says this could amount to about US$40 billion over the next five years, say officials familiar with the matter. If this happens, iPhone maker could become India’s largest exporter, say experts.
This, too, seems logical. With all the problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading out manufacturing facilities seems prudent. However, as The Indian Economic Times notes: “Sources close to the company’s plans said there were some irritants in the government’s ambitious PLI scheme – recently announced to incentivise local handset manufacturing and exports – which still needed to be ironed out.”
