It appears as the summer continues toward fall, there will be no shortage of supply chain leaks for the iPhone 6. According to several sources familiar with the matter, as rumors always start, the iPhone 6 is already beginning mass production overseas. A September 19 launch date is also being pegged.
As more units continue to be manufactured, supply chain leaks become more frequent, at least with the last several years being benchmarks. Often leading to a surprise-less announcement for Apple, the Cupertino based company has been trying to crack down on such leaks.
Above, you see what is alleged to be the 4.7″ LCD backlight panel for iPhone 6, which is rumored to come in 4.7″ and 5.5″ variations. This is consistent with an earlier backlight leak, which posted as early as May. In addition, a more detailed 4.7″ rear shell is captured in the below video. With the internal hardware mounted into the shell, even CNC machining lines, the hardware in the video is quite convincing.
In order to hit a high quantity at launch, and further leading to resonance with a September market release, Foxxconn recently hired, what is believed to be, 100,000 additional workers to help assemble Apple’s newest flagship device. Foxconn has been one of Apple’s main suppliers for several years. With mass hirings, and sometimes mass firings once the device is mainly completed, Foxconn has come under scrutiny several times in the recent past, drawing attention to Apple for allowing sub-standard working environments.
In a recent finding, there are clues pushing armchair analysts to speculate the 16GB entry level iPhone may, finally, become history. As technology continues to advance, the cost of storage continues to decline. However, the entry level storage point for Apple devices has only seen a capacity-bump sporadically across the last seven years. Along with the same groupthink, is the potential for Apple to introduce a 128GB iPhone 6, which would bring it inline with the iPad.
Further speculation has lead some to argue the 32GB entry phone and 128GB upgraded models may be left solely to the 5.5″ device, as a premium for high-end shoppers. If the 32GB entry phone is a possibility, it may help justify what could be the first $299 subsidized 5.5″ iPhone, while the $199 subsidy would equate to a 4.7″ 16GB model.
No matter how the specs fall this September, it is clear that Apple customers will have new decisions to make. Not only will this be the first time Apple offers a multi-size iPhone upgrade, it may be adding a storage capacity addition to help sweeten the deal.
[source: MacRumors]
