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iPhone 8 Production May Start Earlier Than Usual

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Apple may start production of the iPhone 8 earlier than expected, according to information gathered by BlueFin Research Partners and shared by Barron's Tech Trader Daily.

There is "some indication" from the supply chain that Apple will ramp up production of the iPhone 8 starting in June, but that doesn't necessarily point towards an earlier non-September release date.

iphone8conceptthadeubrandao-800x420.jpg
iPhone 8 concept image via Thadeu Brandão​
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.[...]

Interestingly, our present reads suggest a 300% increase in iPhone 8/X builds in the June quarter, now sitting at 9M. As a result, overall June quarter builds have increased from 45M to 48M, with the sharp increase in iPhone 8 offset somewhat by modest declines in legacy models.
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Given the radical design changes expected in the iPhone 8, it is unsurprising that the company may be planning to ramp up production earlier than normal, if the information BlueFin Research has shared is accurate. An earlier production date will give Apple time to improve yield rates and work out manufacturing issues, and could potentially lead to better supply when the iPhone 8 launches in September.

Rumors suggest the iPhone 8 will include an edge-to-edge OLED display, perhaps with curved edges, with a glass backing, a deviation from the aluminum body used since the iPhone 4s. It's said to look like a single sheet of glass, with a Touch ID Home button built directly into the display.

Wireless charging in some form is expected to be included in the device, but it is not yet clear if it will be Apple Watch-style inductive charging or a longer-range over-the-air charging solution. Other rumored features include a faster, more efficient A11 processor, advanced biometrics like facial recognition or iris scanning, a new Taptic engine and 3D Touch advancements, and camera improvements.

BlueFin Research also says Apple has adjusted iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone SE production downward as it begins preparing for the launch of the iPhone 8.

Article Link: iPhone 8 Production May Start Earlier Than Usual
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/02/06/iphone-8-production-starting-early/
Good. If they won't spin up more production capability during launch... then starting the manufacturing earlier is the next best thing.

Hopefully this will prevent people from waiting weeks or months to buy the next new iPhone.
 
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So the design is pretty well finalized then? They likely are expecting huge sales numbers and want to ensure adequate supply quantities for the holiday shopping season.

I just hope they didn't make design compromises to meet that goal, like they did with the new MBP's battery that was supposed to be terraced for more capacity, but those plans were shelved at the last moment due to technical reasons.
 
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macs4nw said:
So the design is pretty well finalized then?
Click to expand...

Probably already locked in.

That said, it's going to be one of the 10 prototypes they made during the development phase so we have no idea which "leak" was accurate.
 
If it has an unecessary new connector then I may stick with my 6+. I must have $200 worth of chargers and Lightning cables between my iPad and iPhone.
 
Nick A said:
All of these iPhone 8 rumors seem too good to be true. A iPhone 7S this year just seems more likely. I really hope I'm wrong though.
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The Chinese market is a key strategy for Apple, and some reports released recently indicated that this market taken an off year for the iPhone 7 in anticipation for iPhone 2017. I believe if Apple does not deliver or innovate, it will be another year of decline.

Samsung is expecting to introduce another flagship product to its Galaxy S8 line that will bend. Think about it a 5-5.5 inch phone that can unfold and be used as a 10+ inch tablet and auto switch into tablet mode. If this happens, goodbye iPhone for me. What do you think of the named Galaxy S8 Bend.
 
Nick A said:
All of these iPhone 8 rumors seem too good to be true. A iPhone 7S this year just seems more likely. I really hope I'm wrong though.
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I think if we get an 8 it will be in short supply and cost quite a bit more than the 7s variants. I just don't see where apple gets all of these oled panels for the every mans iPhone
 
All these rumors already have me hyped for the next iPhone..

I just need to keep my expectations realistic.

Hoping for some early leaks :eek:
 
macs4nw said:
So the design is pretty well finalized then? They likely are expecting huge sales numbers and want to ensure adequate supply quantities for the holiday shopping season.

I just hope they didn't make design compromises to meet that goal, like they did with the new MBP's battery that was supposed to be terraced for more capacity, but those plans were shelved at the last moment due to technical reasons.
Click to expand...

They've gone three years with the 6/6+ design so I'd hope that the design for the 8 is finalized!
 
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Hopefully earlier production would allow for a greater abundance versus a six month shortage. Unless they are starting production early due to part suppliers having constraint. Perhaps both reasons could be why.
 
Can't wait for this to be released so that (maybe??) the SE's price will go down a little. Alternatively, if they would just offer them refurbished already.......
 
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Nick A said:
All of these iPhone 8 rumors seem too good to be true. A iPhone 7S this year just seems more likely. I really hope I'm wrong though.
Click to expand...
I'm with you -- I'd love for all of these rumors to be true but it seems like way too drastic of a change where historically each year has been about one "major" change and spec bumps otherwise.

My bet would be on 7S models this year with spec bumps and a new 5" model with some new kind of naming gimmick like "iPhone Air" or whatever.
 
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