Has Apple’s iPhone 6 hit the 'sapphire' ceiling?

Will Apple be forced to delay the iPhone release this year? If reports emerging from the supply chain industry are to be believed, Apple could well push the release dates of the 2014 editions of its iPhone by a month or two.

Pic: www.seeko.co.kr

It is expected that Apple will come out with not one but two different iPhone models this year, including one with a 5.5 inch screen.

Pic: www.seeko.co.kr

During the last week alone, images of what could be the new iPhone 6 have leaked online, starting with Taiwnese celeb Jimmy Lin to the latest ones on Japanese and Korean websites.

Pic: weekly.ascii.jp

Although Apple has varied its release dates starting with the first iPhone that released in June to the iPhone 4S that released in October, it is widely expected that this year’s announcement could come in September. Both the iPhone 5 in 2012 and the iPhone 5S and 5C last year were announced in September.

Pic: weekly.ascii.jp

But Apple could be facing a serious shortage of the Sapphire screen used in the 5.5-inch phablet-sized device.

The news of the shortage was initially reported on June 15 by a Taiwanese website.

According to the report, the shortage is only limited to the 5.5-inch screen and this may not affect the production of the 4.7-inch device or the iWatch.

Apple is not known for releasing a product and not making it available in the market in sufficient quantity. This could force Apple to either roll out the 4.7-inch iPhone and the iWatch earlier while delaying the announcement of the phablet-sized iPhone, or launch all three products simultaneously towards the end of the year.

The latter, however, looks highly unlikely as it has already been nine months now since the launch of the iPhone 5S, and sales have begun to taper off as fans continue to anticipate newer models.

Sales staff at several leading retail stores in the UAE told Emirates 24|7 that iPhone 5S sales had dropped marginally especially in anticipation of the iPhone 6.

A Sharaf DG sales employee said: “iPhone sales have dropped but just marginally. We are getting queries about the new phone and we are currently telling them to hold on until October or November before stocks can arrive here,” he said

A staff at Virgin Megastore at Mirdiff City Centre, however, said people continue to buy the iPhone. “We have not seen a major fall in sales. The phone is expected to be released in September and might arrive here a month or two later. Five months is too long for anyone to wait, if he urgently needs a phone,” said the staff.

Satosh John who recently damaged the screen of his iPhone 5 says he has been holding on from buying a new phone until the release of the iPhone 6. “I initially thought of replacing my damaged iPhone with a new instrument with one the popular plans provided by Etisalat or du. But we are just a few months away from a new release. I would rather wait and am using a feature phone for the time being,” he said.

The sapphire screen on the 5.5-inch iPhone is expected to be scratch proof.

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