Supply chain preps for Apple's Oct. launch of 'iPhone 8' with hiring spree, resolves bottl...

AppleInsider

The latest supply chain reports out of China are refuting previous observations that the "iPhone 8" would be delayed, and are claiming that manufacturers of previous low-yield products have resolved production problems.

"iPhone 8" OLED concept via iMore.

According to a report early Monday from the Economic Daily News, laminate motherboard suppliers Zhen Ding, and Kinsus Interconnect have worked out difficulties, and are ready to ramp up iPhone parts in June. Long-time Apple supplier TSMC is ready to go with the "A11" chip, also according to the report, and will also start producing in mass quantities on June 10, with volume quantities arriving at Foxconn in the second half of July.

At the same time, the report alleges that iPhone assemblers Foxconn Electronics, Wistron and Pegatron have started the hiring surge process, and required training, to have an adequate work force on hand.

Multiple venues declared in April that the "iPhone 8" would ship significantly later than "normal" iPhone timetables. While the reports stated that the phone would launch alongside the "iPhone 7s" family in Apple's regular September event, the April accounts noted that it may not ship until significantly later.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo cautioned investors that Apple's anticipated flagship "iPhone 8" could be in extremely limited supply in 2017, thanks to the expected adoption of a number of new technologies. As a result, customers could wait, or shift interest to the "iPhone 7s" family of phones which are expected to be released at the same time, potentially capping iPhone shipments in the holiday quarter.

The "iPhone 8" is predicted to sport an edge-to-edge OLED panel with a 5.1-inch user space -- the rest dedicated to virtual buttons. Slimming or removing the bezels would allow Apple to cram a larger battery into a form factor similar in size to the 4.7-inch iPhone 7. Also expected is a new 3D facial scanner .

With a complete redesign said to be forthcoming in the device implementing a curved glass back with wireless charging, some reports have pegged the starting price of the "iPhone 8" at more than $1,000.

lkrupp

Which report to believe? The positive one that says production problems are solved? Or the negative one that says production will be seriously delayed? Decisions, decisions. Since this is an Apple blog site I guess I’ll go with the negative one. Yep, there’s no way the iPhone 8 will launch in 2017 because Apple is incompetent... and doomed.

mrglass86

Every rumor/news site makes themselves sound like an idiot when they say "iPhone 8". There was a 3G/3GS, 4/4S, 5/5S, 6/6S,7 and the next phone will be the 7S. Saying "iPhone 8 coming this year" or even iPhone X as the tenth iPhone (the iPhone 7 was the 10th iPhone if you don't count the iPhone 5c) as being special...you're not doing your job as journalists/bloggers and you're simply creating confusion for consumers who don't know better by creating false and heightened expectations for "clicks"

its not in Apples culture to celebrate anniversaries by withholding technology for those releases. The 40th anniversary of Mac was last year and Apple celebrated by releasing a video titled "40 years of Mac in 40 seconds" that's it...no special 40th anniversary Mac or special color option. It's not in their culture to focus on where they've been.

It makes no sense for them to release a substantially improved phone in the S cycle which would annoy every consumer who purchased an iPhone 7 UNTIL the world is more used to purchasing a new phone when they want and not on the 2 year cycle tha current installment billing plans still encourage. This will happen eventually in the USA but not for a few more years

robertwalter

As usual. 

macxpress

Of course a company that supplies parts for Apple is going to say were going to deliver. Why would they say anything else? We'll see when the time comes if they can deliver or not. Until then...well its just all speculation. 

MacPro

lkrupp said:

Which report to believe? The positive one that says production problems are solved? Or the negative one that says production will be seriously delayed? Decisions, decisions. Since this is an Apple blog site I guess I’ll go with the negative one. Yep, there’s no way the iPhone 8 will launch in 2017 because Apple is incompetent... and doomed.

LOL, doomed indeed!   Given we get the identical choice of rumors every cycle I'd suggest that investors use history as the guide.   Tim is the supply chain all time genius after all.  But hopefully they won't,  I never mind these doom sayers depressing AAPL just long enough to buy more.  

MacPro

sog35 said:

of course the phones will come on time.

Apple has $250 billion to make sure it does.

We see $150 EASY this year. Just like I said 

I'm so confident I bought back my $150 calls and sold $160 calls

Just don't miss out on dividend payouts!  With the taxes on profits and if  one did miss them it could be better to just hold and ride the train ever upwards I'd have thought.

macxpress

mrglass86 said:

Every rumor/news site makes themselves sound like an idiot when they say "iPhone 8". There was a 3G/3GS, 4/4S, 5/5S, 6/6S,7 and the next phone will be the 7S. Saying "iPhone 8 coming this year" or even iPhone X as the tenth iPhone (the iPhone 7 was the 10th iPhone if you don't count the iPhone 5c) as being special...you're not doing your job as journalists/bloggers and you're simply creating confusion for consumers who don't know better by creating false and heightened expectations for "clicks"

its not in Apples culture to celebrate anniversaries by withholding technology for those releases. The 40th anniversary of Mac was last year and Apple celebrated by releasing a video titled "40 years of Mac in 40 seconds" that's it...no special 40th anniversary Mac or special color option. It's not in their culture to focus on where they've been.

It makes no sense for them to release a substantially improved phone in the S cycle which would annoy every consumer who purchased an iPhone 7 UNTIL the world is more used to purchasing a new phone when they want and not on the 2 year cycle tha current installment billing plans still encourage. This will happen eventually in the USA but not for a few more years

I don't believe Apple will keep the current iPhone naming scheme forever. It will eventually change, just like with iPad. In a couple of years, are you going to say I have the iPhone 12? That sounds totally stupid! I actually hope they simple call it iPhone with maybe an iPhone X as some kind of anniversary model or something. But to think Apple will keep going to 7, 7S, 8, 8S, 9, 9S, etc isn't going to happen. 

slurpy

sog35 said:

of course the phones will come on time.

Apple has $250 billion to make sure it does.

We see $150 EASY this year. Just like I said 

I'm so confident I bought back my $150 calls and sold $160 calls

Not every fucking thread has to become about stock price, you fucking troll. I can't believe you haven't been banned for literally derailing every single topic you post in. 

levi

mrglass86 said:

Every rumor/news site makes themselves sound like an idiot when they say "iPhone 8". There was a 3G/3GS, 4/4S, 5/5S, 6/6S,7 and the next phone will be the 7S. Saying "iPhone 8 coming this year" or even iPhone X as the tenth iPhone (the iPhone 7 was the 10th iPhone if you don't count the iPhone 5c) as being special...you're not doing your job as journalists/bloggers and you're simply creating confusion for consumers who don't know better by creating false and heightened expectations for "clicks"

its not in Apples culture to celebrate anniversaries by withholding technology for those releases. The 40th anniversary of Mac was last year and Apple celebrated by releasing a video titled "40 years of Mac in 40 seconds" that's it...no special 40th anniversary Mac or special color option. It's not in their culture to focus on where they've been.

It makes no sense for them to release a substantially improved phone in the S cycle which would annoy every consumer who purchased an iPhone 7 UNTIL the world is more used to purchasing a new phone when they want and not on the 2 year cycle tha current installment billing plans still encourage. This will happen eventually in the USA but not for a few more years

It's referred to iPhone 8 because 1) the design is rumored to be a major leap from current generation both physically and features wise (s models have kept the same outward appearance) 2) Apple is also rumored to release an interative update to 7 as well. The 7s and 8 naming used is for descriptive purposes. 3) It makes perfect sense to release substantially iPhone. Major Android competitors Samsung, LG, Xioami already have, and If not now when? Apple's last three generations of iPhone have kept same or similar design language - this can only go on so long. In fact the rumor was that iPhone 7 design was in part the result of not having the pieces in place (OLED screen supply, camera technology, and screen inbedded Touch ID) to make the radical design changes it wanted to move to. 

rogifan_new

So basically the new iPhone was never really delayed.

tmay

So, it's going on the second week in May, and still no rumors on the iPad Pro replacements.

It would appear almost a certainty that there will be an A11/ A11X onboard, but what else will Apple offer as new features and will there be a new reduced bezel design?

igorsky

lkrupp said:

Yep, there’s no way the iPhone 8 will launch in 2017 because Apple is incompetent...

Pretty amazing how every analysis implies that Apple have no idea how to release a phone on time.

radarthekat

sog35 said:

MacPro said:

sog35 said:

of course the phones will come on time.

Apple has $250 billion to make sure it does.

We see $150 EASY this year. Just like I said 

I'm so confident I bought back my $150 calls and sold $160 calls

Just don't miss out on dividend payouts!  With the taxes on profits and if  one did miss them it could be better to just hold and ride the train ever upwards I'd have thought.

my calls expire in November so I'll be getting 3 more dividend payments for sure.

and if Apple looks really strong I'll probably buy more shares or buy back my calls again and sell a higher strike

I've been nursing (rolling out and up) 5 Apple short call contracts since last summer.  Those were originally sold at the $100 strike with expiration last October.  A rare shortsighted move on my part.  But I rolled the first to January, then again to next January and most recently to Jan 2019.  From the original $100 strike it cost me $11.47/share to roll out and up to $150.  So I'll look to roll again once the 2020 options open for trading at the end of this year.  Meanwhile, the option premium against so much time to expiration will keep me well away from those calls being exercised, so I'll be capturing the dividend on those 500 shares, along with 7000 more that have no Calls written against them, for 7 more quarters.  And, even if I do nothing, I'll eventually get $150 for those shares, for which I paid in the low $90s.  

muthuk_vanalingam

igorsky said:

lkrupp said:

Yep, there’s no way the iPhone 8 will launch in 2017 because Apple is incompetent...

Pretty amazing how every analysis implies that Apple have no idea how to release a phone on time.

Or interpret it another way - That rumor being part of a marketing initiative, to send the message to "masses" (who don't follow the rumors on a daily basis anyway) to rush and order one immediately, else risk not-getting-one-on-time?

muthuk_vanalingam

Or interpret it another way - That rumor being part of a marketing initiative, to send the message to "masses" (who don't follow the rumors on a daily basis anyway) to rush and order one immediately, else risk not-getting-one-on-time?

Soli

Off Topic: I really dislike the TSMC logo.

igorsky

muthuk_vanalingam said:

igorsky said:

lkrupp said:

Yep, there’s no way the iPhone 8 will launch in 2017 because Apple is incompetent...

Pretty amazing how every analysis implies that Apple have no idea how to release a phone on time.

Or interpret it another way - That rumor being part of a marketing initiative, to send the message to "masses" (who don't follow the rumors on a daily basis anyway) to rush and order one immediately, else risk not-getting-one-on-time?

I'm trying to interpret why you think that a company that sells hundreds of millions of phones a year would need to resort to this type of cheap tactic to create buzz.

muthuk_vanalingam

igorsky said:

muthuk_vanalingam said:

igorsky said:

lkrupp said:

Yep, there’s no way the iPhone 8 will launch in 2017 because Apple is incompetent...

Pretty amazing how every analysis implies that Apple have no idea how to release a phone on time.

Or interpret it another way - That rumor being part of a marketing initiative, to send the message to "masses" (who don't follow the rumors on a daily basis anyway) to rush and order one immediately, else risk not-getting-one-on-time?

I'm trying to interpret why you think that a company that sells hundreds of millions of phones a year would need to resort to this type of cheap tactic to create buzz.

Why do you think any company (Apple or Samsung or any other X/Y/Z company) wouldn't do it, if it helps? I have seen this happen EVERY YEAR with Samsung's S/Note flagship releases, and Apple's iphones. And who are we to call it as "cheap". It is just a tactic, may be a well accepted one in marketing domain, who knows?

brucemc

muthuk_vanalingam said:

igorsky said:

muthuk_vanalingam said:

igorsky said:

lkrupp said:

Yep, there’s no way the iPhone 8 will launch in 2017 because Apple is incompetent...

Pretty amazing how every analysis implies that Apple have no idea how to release a phone on time.

Or interpret it another way - That rumor being part of a marketing initiative, to send the message to "masses" (who don't follow the rumors on a daily basis anyway) to rush and order one immediately, else risk not-getting-one-on-time?

I'm trying to interpret why you think that a company that sells hundreds of millions of phones a year would need to resort to this type of cheap tactic to create buzz.

Why do you think any company (Apple or Samsung or any other X/Y/Z company) wouldn't do it, if it helps? I have seen this happen EVERY YEAR with Samsung's S/Note flagship releases, and Apple's iphones. And who are we to call it as "cheap". It is just a tactic, may be a well accepted one in marketing domain, who knows?

The vast (vast) majority of the population do not follow these rumours at all.  The only "rumour" that has penetrated the masses is that this years iPhone is expected to be significantly different than last years (in design).  Good try though.

brucemc

sog35 said:

slurpy said:

sog35 said:

of course the phones will come on time.

Apple has $250 billion to make sure it does.

We see $150 EASY this year. Just like I said 

I'm so confident I bought back my $150 calls and sold $160 calls

Not every fucking thread has to become about stock price, you fucking troll. I can't believe you haven't been banned for literally derailing every single topic you post in. 

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!

$150 !!!!

I predicted $150 in 2015 but a ton of macro economic and geo political stuff stopped that.
I predicted $150 for 2017 and here we go!

And yet we have had to endure your verbal diarrhoea every day for two years, when if you had kept to your word, you would only be returning today...