Production glitches early in the manufacturing process of the upcoming 10th anniversary iPhone may lead to supply shortfalls and shipping delays, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The iPhone, which will be unveiled on September 12 at an Apple event, experienced issues that pushed back the manufacturing process by about a month, said the report, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report added that should shortfalls last beyond the initial sales period, analysts could lower estimates for the holiday period.

Apple's shares, meanwhile, were down 0.5 percent at $161.11 on Thursday.

Apple is banking on a strong launch for the iPhone 8 and expects a solid fourth quarter on the back of strong sales of the new flagship. The company expects Q4 revenue of between $49 billion and $52 billion and a gross margin between 37.5 percent and 38 percent.

The company posted its third-quarter results last week, beating market expectations. Diluted earnings stood at $1.67 a share on $45.4 billion of revenue, compared with earnings of $1.42 a share on revenue of $42.36 billion a year prior.

"With revenue up 7 percent year over year, we're happy to report our third consecutive quarter of accelerating growth and an all-time quarterly record for services revenue," CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.

The iPhone 8 is expected to feature a higher-resolution OLED display, improved touchscreen technology, and wireless charging. The OLED display looks to be the single most expensive component in the iPhone 8, reportedly pushing the retail price of the handset to $1,000.

Apple could also remove the Touch ID and Home button for the new phone in favour of new gesture controls, according to Bloomberg. The Touch ID sensor may instead be embedded into the display, it said.

According to OnLeaks, the back features twin cameras in a vertical orientation for better depth sensing for AR, while the placement of the physical buttons such as the mute switch, the volume controls, and power button are similar to that of the iPhone 7.

It may also feature facial recognition and iris scanning; IP68 water resistance; an 18.5:9 aspect ratio display, similar to that found on the Samsung Galaxy S8; and rear glass panel to support wireless charging.

Apple is expected to unveil three phones -- the iPhone 7s, the iPhone 7s Plus, and the OLED iPhone 8 -- at the September 12 event, as well as a new Apple Watch and an updated Apple TV.

Apple will livestream the unveiling event on September 12 from 1pm EST. ZDNet will have full coverage of the announcements.

By: DocMemory
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