According to a Chinese newspaper, mass production of this year’s new iPhones will be delayed, with the premium “iPhone 8” potentially not ramping up production until as late as November.
There have been talks of delays to the iPhone 8 before – it’s thought that Apple’s production partners are struggling to increase the yield rates on some of the cutting-edge new hardware needed for the device – but until now we’d not heard anything about the other devices being delayed as well.The report says that mass production for the expected iPhone 7S and 7S Plus – iterative upgrades on last year’s models – won’t start until August. Most years mass production is already well underway by then, having started in June or July.
The report says that mass production for the expected iPhone 7S and 7S Plus – iterative upgrades on last year’s models – won’t start until August. Usually, mass production is already well underway by then, having started in June or July. This could mean that even these models are in shorter supply than usual come September, or alternatively they could launch a few weeks later than we’re used to.
Delaying the iPhone 8 could be the only way Apple is able to include certain hardware features, like the rumored under-display fingerprint sensor or 3D facial recognition scanner. It could mean that the device only launches with very limited supply, meaning potential customers may even have to wait until early 2018 to pick up their preferred model. Analysts expect demand to be split roughly 50-50 between those wanting the high-end, $1000+ iPhone 8 and those happy with an iPhone 7S or 7S Plus.
Personally, we’d rather wait for a completely finished device than have something half-baked released on time – but not every iPhone user will share that opinion. If there are big delays, Apple will no doubt be disappointed it wasn’t able to prepare everything sooner in the year – but on the other hand, this is all just hearsay about a device that hasn’t even been announced yet.