Analyst Says Larger iPhone 6 Delayed to 2015

Another day, another iPhone 6 rumor. This time around, it comes from Ming-Chi Kuo, the analyst with KGI Securities out of Thailand who had previously predicted Amazon’s six-camera smartphone. This past weekend, Kuo said that the larger, 5.5-inch model of the iPhone 6 has hit production delays, and may not be out by the end of 2014 as hoped.

The news comes by way of Macrumors, who cites a Kuo-penned report to KGI’s clients:

“Production bottlenecks on 4.7-inch iPhone 6 center on the yield rate of in-cell touch panel and metal casing. As in-cell touch panel becomes larger in size, the edge of the panel may become insensitive to touch. Meanwhile, under new manufacturing process for the iPhone 6 metal casing, color unevenness is an issue.”

These are far from the first rumors we’ve heard about iPhone 6 delays. In April, the larger iPhone was said to have hit production snags because of the need to build a bigger battery. Shortly thereafter, rumors hit about production issues regarding the larger phone’s sapphire display. Since then, we’ve gotten a glimpse at how important the sapphire display will be to the iPhone 6, so it seems unlikely that Apple would settle for giving the larger handset a different type of display.

It’s also important to note that, as ever, these are all rumors and speculation. Apple, of course, has yet to even confirm the existence of the iPhone 6, so every scrap of “news” is worthy of question and doubt. It’s entirely possible that Apple’s got everything figured out for a late-2014 release for both handsets. Considering the company staggered the release of the iPhone 5 and the subsequent iPhone 5s and 5C, delaying the 5.5-inch version of the iPhone 6 would probably not be too big an issue for the new model’s chances of success.

It has been said, however, that one of the motivating factors of the larger iPhone 6 is to take advantage of the growing popularity of phablets in countries like China and territories throughout Asia. Delays to Apple’s iPhablet could be tricky if a competitor manages to find a foothold in those markets before Apple can get its bigger phone out the door.

[Source: Macrumors]