Will the iPhone 9 (or iPhone SE 2) ever see the light of day? We should be closer than ever to an announcement, but the coronavirus outbreak continues to curb Apple's plans.

According to Nikkei Asian Review, mass production of the next low-cost iPhone was scheduled to begin by the end of February, but may be pushed back to March. This is because Chinese suppliers "are operating at 30% to 50% of production capacity," a source told the magazine.

Nikkei reports that some suppliers have finally begun to restore production to pre-virus levels, but the recovery is taking longer than expected. Many employees are expected to return to work next week after Beijing's 14-day self-quarantine requirement ends.

Still, however, measures to contain the spread of the virus are likely to complicate logistics for some time to come. Deliveries have been slowed by restrictions in and out of certain regions. And Apple is now warning investors that it will not meet its sales targets for this quarter because of the coronavirus epidemic's impact on iPhone supply lines.

Meanwhile, Apple plans to release the iPhone 9 this year in late winter/early spring and the iPhone 12 at the end of 2020. The Nikkei cites wait times of over a week for certain iPhone 11 Pro configurations in the US and UK, with existing devices already facing delays

The iPhone 9 launch date is set for April 3, following a March 31 launch event. Although this is all based on rumors at this time, as Apple has not yet distributed invitations for such a gathering. However, if iPhone 9 production continues to stall further, the sales date could shift by several weeks, perhaps even complicating Apple's year-end iPhone plans.

If you were looking forward to getting a relatively inexpensive iPhone in the coming months, this news is frustrating. Nevertheless, the iPhone 8 starts at just $449, a very reasonable price these days, and remains a viable option for budget shoppers.