The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Apple is seemingly going beyond its upcoming devices. A recent report by Bloomberg has stated that owing to the factories being closed in China and component suppliers at a crunch, Apple's service centres are presently facing a crisis in terms of replacements and repairs on iPhones, across various markets. As a result, Apple is instructing Apple Store employees to advise customers of a wait of about two to four weeks in procuring a replacement iPhone for them.
However, the report maintains that Apple Stores do have some inventory of devices at hand, which may be offered to individuals whose phones are damaged to an unusable point. Apple executives may also offer users devices on loan, until the point when their own replacement devices reach them. At the moment, Apple's iPhone 11 series of devices are said to have faced the most of the brunt. This seems plausible, since Apple still uses its partner plants in China to manufacture the latest generation of iPhones, while older devices such as the iPhone XR and other models are made in nations such as India and Vietnam.
Apple is also facing a dearth of supply of components from its supply partners in China, whose factories are either under lockdown, or employees have refused to return due to the viral outbreak of the disease. Due to this, small device repairs that were typically made in-store are also being postponed, leading to a back log of about one month in the repairs and replacements of iPhones.
Going forward, it remains to be seen how the company reacts to the present situation, and if last moment adjustments would be made for its upcoming devices, too. Apple is expected to launch its new mid-range iPhone, the iPhone 9, towards the end of this month. While the launch is still expected to take place at its scheduled time, the prolonged coronavirus outbreak means the entire situation may come under crisis, and Apple is forced to push its launches back to accommodate for the crunched supply.
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