As difficult as the iPhone 8 will be to find at launch, Apple is going to do everything in its power to increase production as quickly and as dramatically as possible in the coming months. On Monday, two BlueFin analysts — John Donovan and Steve Mullane — sent out a report in which they say Apple’s iPhone production will see a “massive” production boost in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Barron’s shared the contents of the note, in which Donovan and Mullane (without citing any sources) say that they believe Apple “will probably have its contract manufacturers build 53 million iPhones in total in the company’s September-ending fiscal Q4, with perhaps only 5 or 6 million being the iPhone X.”
The remaining phones will be a mix of iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus units, which will reportedly feature traditional LCD screens as opposed to the OLED displays that have been rumored for the iPhone 8. The company already has the components to build the iPhone 7s, so that’s what it will focus on for now.
After the three phones launch in September though, the analysts believe that Apple will ramp up iPhone 8 production considerably. In the following three-month quarter ending in December, the two analysts predict that Apple could ramp up production to bring an additional 44 million iPhone 8 units to market, with 30 million set to be produced in the quarters thereafter.
“According to our estimates, build plans for the balance of 2017 and for all of 2018 are at record levels,” they say, which isn’t too surprising when you consider the expectations surrounding the iPhone 8.
Later on in the report, in regards to the existence of a fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 8, the BlueFin analysts say that “component decisions have been finalized,” but that they are “still grappling with the touch ID/fingerprint sensing situation as we continue to uncover mixed messaging.”
For now, it is their belief that “fingerprint sensing will NOT be included at launch.”
