Consumer Electronics

Apple's iPhone 8 May Be Delayed: Report

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Over the past several years, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has introduced its new iPhones in September, but the company may experience a delay until October or November for this year’s expected iPhone 8.

The delay is likely due to difficulties in manufacturing the curved OLED glass panels for the front of the phone. The iPhone 8 is expected to incorporate the curved OLED screen, sourced from Samsung, which already uses the edge-to-edge display feature on its Galaxy S7 Edge.

Taiwan-based industry news site Digitimes cites a report in the Chinese-language Electronic Daily News:

Technical issues related to the lamination process of curved OLED panels, and the adoption of a 3D sensing system may cause the delay of the new iPhone devices, said the paper.

Enthusiasm for the new iPhone has been a primary driver in Apple’s stock price performance this year. Apple has been the best performing stock among the Dow Jones Industrial Average index this year, gaining more than 30%.

Apple watchers will be keeping an eye on other suppliers, looking for signs that the company is pulling back on orders for other components.

A delay in releasing the iPhone 8 is not expected to stall the projected release of an iPhone 7s and 7s Plus. It is possible that Apple will launch the iPhone 8 in the September time frame, but tell customers that the device won’t be widely available until later, perhaps as late as the fourth quarter.

Shares of Apple traded down about 0.7% Wednesday morning, at $143.70 in a 52-week range of $87.49 to $144.89. The high was posted Tuesday and the 12-month consensus price target is $147.00.

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