Richard Goodwin 04/05/2017 - 6:29pm

Word on the street suggests Apple’s iPhone 8 will not get a release date in 2017, after all

Get your salt at the ready, we have a rather meaty iPhone 8 rumour for you: according to multiple sources, Apple will NOT release the iPhone 8 inside 2017. That’s right: no iPhone 8 – just the boring old iPhone 7s.

Sources say Apple is experiencing A LOT of issues getting the iPhone 8 built in the desired numbers.

Production woes had already pushed back the release of the handset by a couple of months, around November-time, according to BGR, but that date has now been further delayed with the news that it might not even get a release inside 2017.

“Report suggests no new iPhone 8 this calendar year,” wrote analysts at Deutsche Bank. “As we have written in previous [research notes], several supply chain reports have suggested that key component shortages and technical challenges could delay the release of a high-end iPhone 8 device this fall. We believe this report further underscores the uncertainty around the timing of Apple’s next- generation iPhone model.”

On the complete OPPOSITE end of the spectrum, however, is the news that Apple’s iPhone 8 could actually launch at WWDC 2017 – in just under a month’s time.

At the same time, TrendForce has published a report regarding the iPhones which WILL arrive in 2017, suggesting that this year's models will not pack 4GB of RAM, instead Apple will go for 3.2GB. However, the analysis does differ somewhat from DeutscheBank, in the sense that TrendForce believes the iPhone 8 with OLED will also pack 3.2GB RAM and that users shouldn't expect 4GB RAM until 2018; that suggests the firm still expects the iPhone 8 to arrive this year.

As I said earlier, it’s silly season for iPhone rumours. Everybody’s trying to get in on the action, and this latest rumour, which comes via Rod Hall of JPMorgan, is certainly the most stupid we've heard in a good long while.

There is little evidence to back up Hall’s claims, though, so please do not go reading too much into this. There is far more evidence that Apple is struggling with production of the iPhone and will, as a result, delay the release until potentially Q1 of 2018.

Sources inside Foxconn have also said Apple WILL NOT release the iPhone 8 inside 2017, meaning a launch could be pushed into Q1 2018 (or later).

The iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus are apparently on track for a release in the usual block, though I cannot see too many people getting excited by these handsets when the prospect of the iPhone 8 has been dangled in front of their noses for the past six months.

Obviously, nothing said in these reports is gospel; you need to take these things with a pinch of salt. Disinformation is everywhere, not just in politics, and you have to factor in Tim Cook’s recent comments too; the CEO blamed leaks about the iPhone 8 on declining iPhone sales during this past quarter.

Could Mr. Cook be trying to reignite demand for Apple’s current iPhones by chucking a cheeky little rumour about iPhone 8 delays out there? Probably not – but it’s an interesting idea all the same!

Personally, I do not see Apple missing this opportunity. Hype around the iPhone 8 is at an all time high; there’s no way Cook and The Boys are going to miss out on this. Even if the release is delayed by a month or two, the handset will almost certainly be launched alongside the iPhone 7s range.