According to reports, Apple is planning to start production of the iPhone 8 much earlier than usual. The report in Barron’s Tech Trader Daily states that there are some indications that the next flagship from the Cupertino giant will be on the manufacturing line by June this year. This information is based on quotes from Bluefin Research Partners’ John Donovan and Steve Mullane. Although, it is to be noted that this does not imply an earlier launch date for the flagship.
If this report is accurate, it will be the first time Apple will be going for an early production run. To quote the exact words from the report, “The most intriguing data points that we have uncovered suggests that AAPL is ramping the next generation iPhones earlier than historical norms, although we have no indication that there has been any change in release plans for the iPhone 8/X,”. This comes in the light of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 disaster last year and might be Apple’s way of ensuring that a similar oversight in device quality does not occur on their next flagship.
Another reason behind this could be related to the year 2017 being the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. Rumours have been spreading about the various features that Apple might be implementing, starting from edgeless displays, facial recognition to an on-screen fingerprint sensor. If these rumours are to be believed as well, the early production might be to avoid any difficulties in manufacturing a more complicated design.
There are strong indications that Apple will be launching three new iPhones this year, with updates to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus expected along with an unknown iPhone X, which is probably going to be the rumoured iPhone 8. Some other features rumoured on the iPhone 8 are wireless charging, flexible OLED displays and a return to the glass sandwich design.