New rumors regarding the release date of the anticipated iPhone 8 now point to a release that is just on the horizon. While some analysts' notes say Apple will release their tenth-anniversary device later this year, others say it will arrive later in 2018. But an analyst at JPMorgan wrote a research note that the gizmo will drop at the 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). And that is just about four weeks from now.
This launch date is, by far, the earliest compared to the predictions of Deutsche Bank and other firms. Although the unveiling will be set for this June, Rod Hall of JPMorgan claims that iPhone 8 will not go on sale until the fall months. However, this forecast will not likely come true, BGR writes. That is because Apple has not previewed an iPhone device during their annual WWDC since the iPhone 4 seven years ago.
The Cupertino-based company has since moved away from that tradition and have moved their debuts to fall instead. Every iPhone since the iPhone 4 arrived in September, with the exception of iPhone 4S that dropped in early October. According to 9to5Mac, this preference points to boosts for Apple's last quarter and holiday sales and it is probable that iPhone 8 will land at that time, too.
Aside from the sales boosts, if the iPhone 8 release date noted by JPMorgan holds true, then Apple would suffer a summer earnings nosedive. Tim Cook's commented during the company's 2017 Q2 earnings call that rumors regarding upcoming devices have hurt the sales of the gizmos they currently have in the market. If Cupertino does drop their tenth-anniversary smartphone, then iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus demand would be hurt more. Instead of buying those products, consumers would likely wait for the next-generation device to make their upgrade.
