Apple preparing for huge iPhone launch production

Like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the new iPhones will have 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screens, respectively.

AAPL CEO Tim Cook isn’t breaking out the numbers for the Apple Watch, but according to analysis from Slice Intelligence, sales are down 90% from the opening week. The company is reportedly planning to order between 85 and 90 million iPhone 6s and 6s Plus (unofficial names so far) units from its manufacturers, compared to an initial production run of 70 to 80 million for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models last fall. The iPhone 6S is also said to be coming with Force Touch on board, which was introduced earlier by the company in the Apple Watch and its MacBooks. A “tick” is described as a big design change, like the bigger screens on the iPhone 6 models. In Merrill Lynch’s opinion, Apple could pursue a simultaneous release of the iPhone in China this year which could explain at least half the roughly 15 million-unit higher build rate this year.

Reliable sources told the Journal that these new models are expected to also feature new Force Touch technology that can differentiate between a deep press and a light tap.

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That’s up 43 percent over the same period in the previous year.

Aside from these, the rumored Apple iPhone is said to be powered by Apple’s A9 processor with a 2 GB of random access memory (RAM) and an improved Qualcomm LTE chip. However, given the recent slump that Android phone makers had to face, we aren’t really sure if Apple will succeed in maintaining its margins over a long run.

It hasn’t been clear if the phones would be called iPhone 6S, as is likely given the minimal changes expected, or iPhone 7.

Apple is also considering adding a fourth color option for the iPhone, according to the Journal.

Nothing is official as of yet and we don’t expect Apple to confirm any of this anytime soon. Reports suggest that for the first time in history, Apple will hire three different firms to assemble the new iPhones. For last year’s effort, Apple relied on Pegatron Corp. and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. In other words, Apple’s iPhone sales during the company’s next refresh cycle could skyrocket by upwards of 28%.