iPhone 6S/7 release date still on schedule despite production delays, says analyst

Ming-Chi Kuo has been one of the most accurate at predicting what is to be released

Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller announces the new iPhone 6 during an Apple special event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on September 9, 2014 in Cupertino, California (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Mass production of the next iPhone has been delayed, according to one analyst, but the phone is still on track for its September release date.

Production has been delayed by a week or two, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and orders have been reduced for the current iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to make space for the new phones. Foxconn, the company that will be building the phones, will be scheduling overtime to make the new handsets, according to the analyst, who has a strong track record with leaks from the Apple assembly line.

But the phones will still start production later this month, according to Kuo, and so will be ready in time for the expected September release date. Apple tends to announce its new phones in mid-September, before they are officially released a week later.

The next iPhone's big new feature will be Force Touch, a feature already in the Apple Watch that lets it know how hard the screen is being pressed. It will also have harder aluminium, to stop bending, a better camera on the back and a bump in specifications.

The company is expected to release a 6S and 6S Plus, in line with the existing range. But it could also launch an iPhone 6C, which is widely-rumoured to keep the smaller screen size that was found on the iPhone 5 and 5S.