iPhone 6 Release Date Looms Large as Mass Production Begins for Initial Shipment of 68M Units – Reports

The countdown for the iPhone 6 release date this 2014 appears to have started as reports coming from Asia indicate that volume production of the iOS 8-powered device is now underway with the likelihood that around 68 million units will initially hit the market.

A8 chips begin delivery

In a report by Apple Insider, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is now in the process of delivering the 64-bit A8 processing chip to various Asian assembly plants where the iPhone 5S is sequel will be manufactured.

This suggests that the iPhone 6 manufacturing activities have officially begun, which is in line with earlier predictions offered by analysts that Apple will start to mass produce its 2014 flagship in July. The 20nm A8 is expected to power the two iPhone models this year, a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch builds, as well as the iPad refreshes.

The same report noted too that TSMC actually started working on the A8 chip production March this year so it makes sense that delivery is scheduled to begin this July. The latest information from Hong Kong was first picked up by The Wall Street Journal, said Apple Insider on its report.

68 million units of iPhone 6

And if indeed the next iPhone is being put together in China as of this report, bulk shipments of the device is likely set for August or a few weeks before its rumoured release date in September. According to Business Insider, citing reports from G4Games, the market can expect at least 68 million units of iPhone 6 in the remaining months of the year.

The record orders will surpass that of the first batch of iPhone 5S shipments in 2013 by 20 per cent, added the Business Insider report, which also points to the recent data used by Katy Huberty of Morgan Stanley.

Growth path

In her note, Huberty has forecasted that Apple will flood the market with more 61 million units of freshly-minted iPhone 6, shortly only by a few millions from the G4Games report.

From these reports, it seemed apparent that Apple is pretty confident of staying in the growth path with its iPhone 6 thrust. Should the tech giant is able to clear all its 2014 stocks of the device, it will register a 33 per cent growth in sales from last year, said Business Insider.

In offering a phablet variant of its upcoming iPhone, Apple is seen to create a new revenue generator in the large-screen iOS smartphone along with that of the company's first wearable device - the iWatch, a new report said this week.

Analysts readily view the iPhone 6 as an instant hit on its supposed September 19 release date, especially the phablet-size edition, due to its fresh loads of killer features, headlined by an upsized screen with sapphire glass cover, a faster and battery-efficient CPU, a new form-factor and iOS 8.