The iPhone 8 has been talked about even right after the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus' release, now the forthcoming smartphone from Apple is reported to be liable for the Cupertino-based company's slow sales last year. In addition, iPhone 8 production is anticipated to start earlier than expected.

According to IDC, Apple Inc. obtained 14 percent market shares in China way back in 2015, but last year the company only registered a share of 9.6 percent. It was also noted that the major cause of the decline is the fact that a lot of Apple's patrons have decided to skip with the iPhone 7. As an alternative, they have chosen to wait for the iPhone 8 since this smartphone will make most of their investments.

It is worth mentioning that the iPhone 7 incorporated minor enhancements compared to its forerunner; iPhone 6s. Also, most of the enhancements in iPhone 7 were internal rather than external which something that consumers will see directly. In this scenario, many consumers felt a bit shortchanged and decided not to upgrade their devices instead wait for the iPhone 8.

On the other hand, Barron's Tech Trader Daily stated that John Donovan and Steve Mullane from BlueFin Research Partners stated that the iPhone 8 production activity should start earlier than expected. The authors write, "The most intriguing data points that we have uncovered suggests that AAPL is ramping the next generation iPhones earlier than historical norms, although we have no indication that there has been any change in release plans for the iPhone 8/X. Builds have been pulled in a few months while aggregate next generation forecasts have increased 10 percent from last month to 122M. Additionally, AAPL has adjusted iPhone 7, 7 Plus, and SE production downward in preparation for the next generation launch."

This only suggests that the production of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be minimized to give way for the iPhone 8. The Cupertino-based company is looking for early production to make sure there will be adequate supply on launch day as it realized that manufacturing issues may arise.

With Apple's slow smartphone sales, it is one good point that the company's patrons are looking forward to iPhone 8 as it may deliver more enhancements compared with iPhone 7. Also, it is not impossible that the company will start early production of the device as it really wanted to give the demands of its avid fans.

Tags: Apple Inc. Apple iPhone 8 iPhone 8 iPhone 8 Mass Production