Apple is going to start making the iPhone 8 far sooner than expected, according to reports.

The move could indicate that the Apple plans to release the new phone earlier than normal, that it is expecting to sell a lot more of them or that it is intending to add so many changes that the phones will take far longer to produce.

There is "some indication" that Apple is ramping up production of the new phone, according to analysts from BlueFin Research Partners. The new handsets are expected to start being put together by Apple's suppliers in early June, much earlier than usual, according to the same report.

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But it isn't clear that going into production earlier will actually mean that the phone will be released any sooner than usual, or than expected. Instead, it might confirm many of the biggest leaks about the phone.

The iPhone 8 – which might take an entirely new name – is expected to bring with it a whole range of extreme changes to its design. That could include the complete removal of the home button, getting rid of the bezel around the phone's display, and using entirely new materials in building it.

If those extreme changes were to take place, it would probably need much longer production schedules that would as a result need to begin earlier.

Apple has in recent years released its new iPhones on a reliable schedule, unveiling them at the beginning of September and then putting them on sale a couple of weeks later. But it has never publicly committed to keeping to that same schedule, moved it around in the year during the early generations of the phone, and released new models like the iPhone SE outside of its normal release dates.