iPhone 6 5.5-Inch Model Facing Yield Issues, Launch May be Pushed to 2015: Analyst

It seems nothing is going Apple's way when it comes to the next iPhone's production. A recent report suggested that the company might face component yield issues in an attempt to meet the thin form factor of the iPhone 6.

Now, KGI Securities' analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that due to production issues, the launch of the alleged larger iPhone 6 variant, believed to be the 5.5-inch model, may be delayed to next year. He adds that in any case the phone is indeed launched in October, it is likely be available in limited quantities.

MacRumors quotes Kuo who noted, "Production bottlenecks on 4.7-inch iPhone 6 centre on the yield rate of in-cell touch panel and metal casing. As in-cell touch panel becomes larger in size, the edge of the panel may become insensitive to touch. Meanwhile, under new manufacturing process for the iPhone 6 metal casing, colour unevenness is an issue."

Notably, this is not the first case of yield issues reported for the long-rumoured 5.5-inch iPhone 6 variant. Back in May, a report suggested that the use of costly sapphire as a display material, was limiting the production of the alleged iPhone 6 with 5.5-inch display.

Last week, a report tipped that Apple might introduce a new haptic feedback technology in its next generation iPhone devices, while another leak suggested that the company had almost doubled orders for the iPhone 6 when compared to the iPhone 5.

Earlier this month, a report revealed a September 25 (Thursday) availability date for the alleged 4.7- and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 models, which is not in line with Apple's traditional Friday launch, while also claiming that the name of the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 variant will be iPhone Air.