Rumours about a delay in the market availability of the upcoming iPhone 8 have been doing the rounds for a while. Corroborating the same, analyst firm RBC Capital Markets has released an investor note stating that the iPhone 8 may see delayed availability this year. Apple’s usual practice is to launch new iPhones in September, followed by immediate availability. RBC notes that this might not be the case for the iPhone 8 and that the new device might not reach consumers till November.
The note states, “While we still think Apple launches all three models simultaneously in September, the OLED model will see limited availability or delayed availability till mid-October/November timeframe.” The firm further notes that a delay in OLED panel production is the reason behind iPhone 8's availability set back. "We are lowering our Sept & Dec-qtr iPhone expectations by 2.5M units each, but expect much of this to be picked up in March-qtr and through FY18," notes the firm.
This isn’t the first time we have heard of an iPhone 8 delay. Renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also noted that the OLED-sporting smartphone might not hit markets till early 2018. Citing production difficulties due to the use of custom-ordered components, Kuo said that the mass production of iPhone 8 will likely be pushed back to October/November.
The iPhone 8 is expected to be announced in September, alongside iterative updates to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone 8 will most likely have a flexible OLED display and Apple is expected to introduce a major redesign with the new smartphone. We also hear that being the Tenth Anniversary edition of the iPhone, the iPhone 8 will cost a whopping $1000 (Rs 64,225 approx).