Apple has admitted that iPhone sales will decrease, relative to previous quarters, in March and the same trend will likely continue by the end of June. In order to cushion the impact of the retreating sales numbers, it's possible that release date of the iPhone 7 will be advanced with the production to start May 2016, as suggested by a new report.
The iPhone maker has yet to provide the details on the numbers but a Nikkei report pointed to downward adjusted production of the latest models - the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus - up to the end of the second quarter this year. Production is down by 30 percent and the publication said that "the U.S. company has told parts suppliers in Japan and elsewhere that it will maintain the reduced output level in the current quarter."
Overall, sales remain sluggish, the report added.
It appears though that mitigating measures are in place to offset the declining iPhone 6S sales to Apple's bottom line. One is to lower production in order to cut cost. But more interesting is the supposed plan to advance the manufacture of upcoming iPhone models.
To be clear, Apple plans no significant increase in the production and shipment levels of the iPhone SE - the 4-inch handset that the tech giant started rolling out March 31. Rather, the company might be looking to finalize its next batch of flagships, rumored to be the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, and give the green for its wholesale manufacture as early as next month.
"Should Apple decide to release its next flagship model earlier than the usual September launch, parts production for that smartphone could take off around late May," Nikkei reported.
The same news story, however, skipped on projecting a rollout schedule. But as the production calendar is supposedly moved a month ahead from the usual June start, granting the Nikkei forecast will prove accurate, then launch date could take place in August and not September 2016.
And Apple has solid reasons to believe that the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus on release date will again shatter the records set by its immediate predecessors. The next iPhone is rumored to present a new build and design, up to 256GB of internal memory for the top model, the likelihood of OLED coming to the picture and the mighty combo of A10 chip and iOS 10. They are seen as compelling reasons for Apple fans to upgrade, leading to sales skyrocketing anew at the close of 2016.