Delayed iPhone 8 2017 Release as Apple Will Only Deploy iPhone 7S/7S Plus Following September Intro?

By Erik C. Pineda / 1488858542
(Photo : ConceptsiPhone/YouTube) Apple iPhone 8 vs. Samsung Galaxy S8: Ming-chi Kuo Says Next iPhone Will Have Better Selling Points, Killer Features

The next iPhone will be out as usual September this year but will not include the redesigned iPhone 8. Instead, only the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus will debut as production of the iPhone 8 will be delayed, new reports said.

The projected scenario is Apple will introduce all three new iPhones on September 2017, the iPhone 8 including, but only the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus will start selling weeks after. Fans will have to wait longer for the massively revamped iPhone 8, no thanks to the delayed mass production of the handset model.

According to DigiTimes, the iPhone 8 with curved OLED display will only commence assembly on September, thereby pushing back its commercial debut by weeks or even months. "Production for the new OLED iPhone is unlikely to start until September due to the redesigned fingerprint ID solution," the report said.

However, the two other new iPhones, which KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo said will be called the iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus, will begin their wholesale manufacture no later than June 2017, thus positioning the devices for a September unveiling and possibly release in the immediate weeks to follow, the same report added.

In a related report, iDownloadBlog.com said Kuo is in agreement with the assessment offered in the DigiTimes report. Not only that Apple is struggling with the new fingerprint ID technology that will be part of the iPhone 8 package, the tech giant is also dealing with issues that involve the device's 3D camera system with augmented reality (AI) capabilities.

"Unless production of the OLED iPhone ... gets pushed back, there is virtually no time to make changes to the 3D camera system, either on a parts or module level, given the lengthy review and recertification processes that would be required," iDB reported Kuo as saying.

The latest reports further confirmed that it will be a three-handset push this 2017 with the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus touted to largely carry over the build and design language seen from their immediate predecessors.

On the other hand, the iPhone 8 on release date, which likely will happen between November and December 2017, will boast of an all-screen profile with an OLED display that will be a huge departure from the last three generations delivered by Apple. A render of which can be seen in the clip below: