Taiwan sources have said that the next 5.8″ iPhone will use a glass chassis with a stainless steel frame, while the 4.7″ will use an aluminium chassis. The decision on the 5.5″ is yet to be decided. Foxconn Technology and Jabil Circuit have been identified as suppliers of the stainless frame, with Catcher Technology supplying the aluminium part. Catcher wouldn’t comment but said that it expects rising revenues in 2017.
Analyst Comment
There are also reports that the new designs will go into production further ahead of the launch than in the past. The reality is that because service providers have to support millions of users, they insist on very long qualification periods, so final production products have to be ready for testing months before the launch, unlike some other products. (BR)
