The iPhone 8 release date may be pushed to November, as suppliers struggle with new components
When Apple chooses a component supplier, it's not only since they can ensure production in mass quantities on a giant scale, but also because the parts can be churned out with a consistently high quality, ready to be put in a new iPhone. That's not a small feat to achieve even for companies the rank of Foxconn, and, this year, there will be a never-before-attempted shot at iPhone greatness with an alleged OLED iPhone 8 in the wings.
Nikkei's Asian Review is reporting that suppliers are scrambling to fit a variety of parts in the desired production schedule, and these range from Samsung's millions of OLED panels, to the wireless charging circuit. Even the new and tiny stacked motherboard is facing production difficulties with the needed quantity and accuracy. The wireless charging board reportedly still overheats too much, while, according to Sean Kao, an analyst at IDC: "There is a new design for a much smaller printed circuit board to allow a more powerful battery for this upcoming iPhone... but there are still some quality issue to overcome to achieve smooth mass production."
As for Samsung's OLEDs, their production has supposedly run into unspecified difficulties. Apple is said to have ordered 70-90 million high-quality OLED panels from the Koreans, but churning those out en masse has apparently become problematic and, rather than starting to ship them in May, the first "shovel-ready" iPhone 8 screens may land on Foxconn's assembly lines in late June or even in July. Thus, two more local analysts peg the release date of the iPhone 8 to be in November or late October at the earliest, even though the handset may still be announced during Apple's usual September event.
source: Nikkei
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: