Apple’s 5.5-inch phablet version of the next flagship device iPhone 6 has long been rumoured to face productions issues, pushing the release date to early 2015, and now a recent report, citing issues with in-cell touchscreen panel, is the latest addition to the list.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 model is facing issues with in-cell touchscreen panel and colour unevenness in the metal casing, resulting in a delay in the release date to next year, leaving the 4.7-inch version to be the only model to debut this fall.
Although earlier rumours pointed at a delay in launch, recent reports suggested that both the variants of the iPhone 6, to enter production stage at the same timeframe, but the larger version will be limited in terms of supply.
Kuo said that the Cupertino is facing production bottlenecks even in the 4.7-inch version of iPhone 6, related to the same issues, but the problems are a kind of “even more complicated” in the larger version.
He explained that with the increase in size of the in-cell touch panel, the edge of panels might turn insensitive to touch. He added that he doesn’t expect the iPhone 6 sapphire display for the 5.5-inch, touted to be scratch-resistant to “easily pass the drop test near term,” which he said could also prompt delays.
However, in a video showing the purported sapphire front panel undergoing stress tests that surfaced last week, the display had survived certain drop tests, but it apparently shattered when run over by a 1.6 utility vehicle.
Kuo noted that the larger version, even after the lunch, could start with initial shipments of less than 15-20 million units and increase eventually, suggesting supply constraints.
He said the “most conservative scenario” is that the company launches the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 model in early 2015. But he did hold out some hope for a 2014 launch, noting that even if it happens, it will be likely after mid-fourth-quarter, around mid-November.
