The Chinese-language Economic Daily News reports today that there are signs that indicate that Apple may delay their top end iPhone model to October or November.

Reportedly the delay is due to issues related to the lamination process of the curved OLED panels and the adoption of a new 3D sensing system. One should also keep in mind that earlier this week we learned that Apple ordered 70 million "bendable OLED panels" for the iPhone 8. The delay could be as simple as timing of the production of the new bendable displays and not technically an "issue."

As a supply chain rumor, the report further noted that "Market sources said that they are watching the pull-in of orders for passive components from the iPhone's supply chain to see whether production of the new iPhone devices is on track, adding that the supply chain should begin to pull in orders for passive components such as Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors (MLCCs) in June. No conclusion was made at this time.

Should there be a delay in the higher end iPhone, it's only likely to slightly delay the shipment dates that Apple provides during their September iPhone keynote. Whether the delay is due to technical issues or Apple wanting to strategically move the shipping date so that sales of their higher end model spill over to calendar Q1 2018 (Apple's fiscal Q2 2018) is a little unclear at the moment.

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