Apple’s big iPhone update could launch later than expected, according to a new report.
The tech giant has been forced to push back the launch of its major iPhone update, believed to be known as the iPhone 8 or iPhone Edition, TechCrunch is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of Apple’s plans. Apple will release two minor iPhone upgrades sooner than the iPhone 8, according to the report.
Apple is rumored to be working on three new iPhones for this year. Two of those, which could be known as the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus, are only expected to offer minor upgrades over last year’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, including power upgrades and some design tweaks. The third model, which has been generally called the iPhone 8, could come with major upgrades, including a new organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen technology rather than the liquid-crystal display (LCD) Apple has used in all previous iPhones.
The iPhone 8 might also come with an all-glass design and have several new features, including wireless charging and a facial scanner. All of those updates could push the iPhone 8’s price to $1,000 or more, reports say.
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But all of those updates might also translate to problems for Apple, according to some recent reports. The Wall Street Journalreported on Thursday, for instance, that Apple has faced some manufacturing problems with the iPhone 8, forcing the company to push back its release timetable. Previous reports had said that Apple’s hope of getting a virtual fingerprint sensor into the iPhone 8 was holding up production.
However, the vast majority of reports say Apple’s traditional release timeline is too tight.
In recent years, Apple (AAPL) has stuck to a rather predictable iPhone release schedule. The company typically announces its new iPhones early in September and starts pre-orders on those devices the Friday after the announcement. A week later, on a Friday, Apple launches the handsets.
If Apple were to keep that schedule this time around, the company would launch its new iPhones on September 22, and start offering pre-orders on September 15. But the Journal‘s sources say Apple is more likely to offer the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s around that time and not deliver the iPhone 8 until October, at the earliest.
Apple is expected to announce its new iPhones at its September 12 press event at the Steve Jobs Theater inside its new Apple Park headquarters.