The iPhone 8 production ramp could be moved to November, as opposed to the usual August-September timeline, causing a "severe supply shortage."
Apple’s iPhones are always subject to a lot of speculation before they launch. We have been hearing reports of a delay with the iPhone 8 supply since sometime now. This was followed by recent reports of Apple’s Tenth Anniversary device slated for a September launch, followed by availability in October.
Now, for a second time, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities has said that the upcoming iPhone 8 might be facing big production challenges which could cause a delay in the shipment of the smartphone. In a note to 9to5Mac, Kuo highlighted that Apple’s production issues for the iPhone 8 are being caused due to “major hardware upgrades.” At least there’s an upside here that Apple is looking to make significant changes to the hardware on the new flagship iPhone.
However, that’s the only piece of good news here. Kuo seems to be pessimistic about timely shipments of the iPhone 8. In his note he writes that there is a “rising probability of worst-case scenario for iPhone shipments.” He has even downgraded his shipment estimates from 100-110 million units to 80-90 million units.
Here’s how the note reads – “We are seeing more evidence that the worst-case scenario forecasted in our April 19 report could materialize, where new iPhone shipments in 2H17F are revised down to 80- 90mn units from 100-110mn units (vs. consensus of 100-120mn units).”
Kuo further explains that the production cycle of OLED iPhones could be delayed to October-November, as against the usual timeline of August-September. This is expected to cause “severe supply shortage” after the new phones are launched in September.
In addition, Kuo has advised investors to watch out for a few things closer to the launch of the new iPhones. These include – “whether the 3D sensor of OLED iPhone provides an innovative user experience; whether OLED iPhone cancels Touch ID (fingerprint recognition); and whether Apple’s competitors launch more innovative products which could compete with OLED iPhone.”
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