While HP may move up the launch of its TouchPad tablet, it appears that Apple could delay the launch of the next generation of two of its flagship products. According to two different reports both the iPad 2 and iPhone 5 will launch later than expected.
Widely expected in April, the iPad 2 will instead launch in June, according to a report by Taiwanese brokerage firm Yuanta Securities. The delay is due to production bottlenecks triggered by recent design changes.
A separate report by FBR Capital Markets suggests that the Apple iPhone 5 will also be delayed. It will miss the traditional June iPhone date and instead launch in September. According to the report, a number of suppliers including casing, touch and chip vendors, are either still ramping up or have yet to receive firm orders. The report concludes: “Given these factors, we think a September launch is more likely, off from Apple’s traditional iPhone launch schedule, but giving the firm more time to enhance its next-generation instant communications on the phone.”
The FBR Capital Markets report also indicates that Apple is looking to build 100 million iPhones and 45 million iPads in 2011.