An Apple iPhone 7 and the company logo are seen in this illustration picture taken in Bordeaux, France, February 1, 2017.

An Apple iPhone 7 and the company logo are seen in this illustration picture taken in Bordeaux, France, February 1, 2017. Reuters/Regis Duvignau

Good news, Apple fans. The Cupertino, California-based tech giant is reportedly going to start making the iPhone 8 earlier than expected. This year marks the 10th year anniversary of Apple’s iconic mobile phone, and the upcoming feature-packed flagship promises to have a grand launching.

According to a new report, Apple may begin production of the iPhone 8 ahead of schedule. The company may start putting together the much anticipated smartphone as early as June, although it really doesn’t guarantee a pre-September release. John Donovan and Steve Mullane of research firm BlueFin Research Partners provided the new information that was first published by Barron’s Tech Trader Daily.

“The most intriguing data points that we have uncovered suggests that AAPL is ramping the next generation iPhones earlier than historical norms, although we have no indication that there has been any change in release plans for the iPhone 8/X,” the report stated. “Builds have been pulled in a few months while aggregate next generation forecasts have increased 10 percent from last month to 122 million. Additionally, AAPL has adjusted iPhone 7, 7 Plus and SE production downward in preparation for the next generation launch.”

The authors said that the most recent update they received from their AAPL supply chain sources points out that no changes are made to the 50 million March quarter build forecast. They added that the attention of the supply chain remains primarily focused on the overwhelming anticipation for an iPhone 8/X super cycle tangled with certain mid-year transition hurdles.

“Interestingly, our present reads suggest a 300 percent increase in iPhone 8/X builds in the June quarter, now sitting at 9 million,” said the authors. “As a result, overall June quarter builds have increased from 45 million to 48 million, with the sharp increase in iPhone 8 offset somewhat by modest declines in legacy models.”

Fans expect great things and new features from the iPhone 8. Apple is reportedly boosting its all-important follow-up with specs and features not seen on previous models. These iPhone 8 innovations supposedly include an edge-to-edge OLED curved display, upgraded front and back cameras, an all glass back cover, wireless charging, advanced biometrics (including facial recognition and even iris scanning), the latest A11 chipset (which is said to be faster and more energy-efficient than the current A10 processor) and an IP68 rating (which would allow the phone to be submerged underwater 1.5 metres deep for half an hour with no problem).

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