As the ravenous fans inside the Apple ecosystem eagerly await next month’s rumored arrival of the 6th generation Apple iPhone, new reports are coming to light about the potential for widespread product shortages at the onset of the device’s market introduction.
On Friday morning, The Wall Street Journal shed some light on what could prove to be among the biggest reasons for the supply shortages presently feared.
Japan’s Sharp Corp. hasn’t started mass producing screens for Apple Inc.’s next iPhone, a person with knowledge of the situation said Friday, raising questions about whether the U.S. company will be able to secure enough components to meet demand for its upcoming smartphone.
Demand for the new iPhone is believed to be so strong that some market analysts believe Apple may sell 10 million new iPhones within the first few months of the refreshed device’s availability.
Sharp, which helps supply the liquid crystal displays that Apple uses for its smartphones, “had planned to start shipping iPhone screens by the end of August,” the WSJ reports.
But the mass production isn’t happening. And as of this writing, it remains unknown as to when Sharp will be in a position to start shipping the LCD panels as initially anticipated.
