The iPhone 12 series may be delayed because their wide-angle camera lenses are out of stock

The rumors of the iPhone 12 series' release being rescheduled in 2020 have become so persistent that Apple has finally publicly admitted that this is indeed the case. The company's chief financial officer (CFO) Luca Maestri has conceded that the new devices may ship "a few weeks later" than normal. Now, a new leak purports to offer some insight as to why this is.

The new iPhones are clearly likely to launch with upgrades compared to their current generation. A new report, apparently based on a new missive released by Ming-Chi Kuo, notes that one of these is a new 7-piece (7P) wide-angle lens in all 4 of their variants (as opposed to 6P in the iPhones 11). Unfortunately, it seems Apple's plan to provide this spec has run into difficulty.

The 7P lens destined for the iPhone 12 models with 5.4- and 6.1-inch screens will be 1/2.6 inches in size, whereas that of the 2 remaining higher-end models will be 1/1.9-inch and support something called Sensor Shift.

In the case of the former, they were apparently to be supplied by a company called GSEO. However, these components have been subject to poor results in routine quality tests (conducted by Sharp, the maker of the underlying sensor in question).

More specifically, it seems the lens' coating developed fissures when exposed to increased temperatures and humidity. This may be intolerable in a mobile device; therefore, GSEO may have to re-negotiate its price-per-lens with Apple in order to keep the contract to supply them.

Another company, Largan, has higher-quality 7P lenses according to Kuo; therefore, this may be another spanner in the works as far as iPhone 12 unit completion is concerned.