iPhone 8 Release Date Rumors: Production Won't Start Until November; Launch Delayed to MWC 2018?
The iPhone 8 production might not begin until November, which in effect may delay its release until the Mobile World Congress event next year.
For the past few years, Apple traditionally held its unveiling events in September where new iPhones, iPads, and other products were announced. However, this year, many reports claim that this might not be the case.
Patently Apple reported recently that the Cupertino-based iPhone maker had just distributed the manufacturing orders to various factories in Taiwan and that the actual production has not yet started.
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The manufacturing of the 4.7-inch iPhone 7s and 5.5-inch iPhone 7s Plus units are rumored to kick off earlier next month, and as the report noted, these are already a couple of months behind the usual time frame Apple follows for the annual release of iPhone refresh products.
As for the highly anticipated OLED-clad iPhone 8, the schedule was pushed further back. The iPhone 8 is not expected to enter production until November or December. If that is the case, people might not see or hear about it until next year.
With that, it is speculated that Apple is most likely going to announce the new set of iPhones sometime around the 2018 schedule of MWC, which happens on Feb. 26 to March 1.
Apple has reportedly commissioned Foxconn factories to assemble 95 percent of the iPhone 8 units they will initially ship. The manufacturing company will also take care of a "small volume" of orders for the other iPhone models.
Meanwhile, Apple has also reportedly enlisted another Taiwanese firm, Pegatron, to manufacture 65 percent of their orders for iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus and a "small portion" of the iPhone 8. A third Taiwan-based manufacturer, ODM Wistron, will also make most of the 5.5-inch iPhone 7s Plus units.
This was not the first time that reports claimed that Apple would be taking on much later announcement and retail release dates for the iPhone 8, iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus. In May, a research note from analysts at Deutsche Bank revealed that they believe the iPhone 8 will not make it to the market anytime in 2017 due to some supply shortages.
On other iPhone 8-related news, more leaked renders and images have surfaced that suggest that the iPhone 8 will indeed sport a bezel-less screen.
