OLED ‘iPhone 8’ Shipping Dates Could Be Delayed to October: Analyst

Citing a talk with a component supplier, Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster has claimed that although Apple will unveil its flagship OLED ‘iPhone 8′ in September, it won’t be able to ship it before October because of “challenges with the OLED curved screen”. He added that despite the OLED iPhone’s delayed shipment, Apple will be able to achieve impressive sales, reviving global iPhone growth once again (via AppleInsider).

Munster predicts shipments of 39 million iPhones in the September quarter, which is well below a Wall Street consensus of 49 million. However, he anticipates 6 million iPhone shipments shifting into the December quarter, and an extra 4 million in the March quarter, which is around the time he believes supply and demand for the new OLED iPhone will balance out. 

The analyst suggested in fact that while the iPhone 7 cycle will likely generate flat unit growth versus the iPhone 6s, the next iPhone cycle should see an an 8 percent rise.

Revenue is meanwhile predicted to grow 11 percent, mainly due to a higher average selling price spiked by the OLED iPhone, commonly referred to as the “iPhone 8.” The figure should increase from $651 to $674, Munster said, working on the assumption that the new phone will cost over $1,000.

“This new high-end SKU should run about $47 per month on the iPhone upgrade program, compared to $41.58 today for the entry level iPhone 7,” he wrote.

A Loup survey of 501 people in the U.S. conducted the weekend before Apple’s recent WWDC has revealed that interest is much higher in the ‘iPhone 8’. Of 220 current iPhone owners, 25% said they were planning to buy the next iPhone at launch, a jump from 15% in a July 2016 poll. 

Despite the survey coming before Apple’s ARKit announcement last week, almost 54% of iPhone owners planning to upgrade said they were interested in augmented reality features.