Pushing back against claims that the iPhone 8 would be delayed because of component production problems, several of Apple’s key suppliers now claim they’re on schedule for an October release, Chinese publication the Economic Daily News reports. TSMC claims it will “begin to fabricate the wafer starts needed for the production of A11 processes on June 10 and to deliver the chips in volume quantity in the second half of July,” while Zhen Ding Technology and Kinsus Interconnect Technology have reportedly improved their yield rates on laminated motherboards enough to ramp up production by June as well.
Foxconn, Pegatron and Winstron—Apple iPhone assembly partners—are also bracing for the added workload, “accelerating the recruitment and training of new workers in China in preparation of mass production of the new iPhone.”
As for what the final product will look like, JPMorgan is the latest analyst to make a big prediction, claiming that the iPhone 8’s OLED display will be edge-to-edge horizontally, although the top and bottom will still feature narrow bezels, 9to5Mac reports. There’s still uncertainty over whether the phone will have a fingerprint sensor, or where it could be placed, but they analyst was confident the device will feature 3D facial recognition sensors.
The report claims Apple may even include its wireless AirPods with the iPhone 8, although given their high cost and current lack of supply—with some customers already waiting 6 weeks on new AirPod orders—that seems a bit far-fetched. JPMorgan also went out on a limb last week, claiming Apple would totally disregard tradition and present a sneak peek at the iPhone 8 at WWDC in June, so we’re viewing their claims with a healthy dose of skepticism.
