No iPhone launch would be complete with surprise delays and unexpected setbacks. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at KGI Securities, the company that’s supposed to supply Apple with the iPhone 6S’s backlights is having issues with production and won’t be able to meet manufacturer as many backlights as needed to meet consumer demand. That’s why Apple apparently turned to one of the company’s competitors to make up for the shortage, but the setback will still cause Apple to have a limited supply of the iPhone 6S Plus at launch.
With preorders underway for the iPhone 6s and its larger counterpart, the 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus is expected to see limited supply at launch, due to apparent production issues related to the handset’s backlight. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities issued a note to investors on Monday, a copy of which was obtained by AppleInsider, revealing the apparent issues faced by Apple supplier Minebea. As a result, Kuo said, Apple has placed rush orders with competing supplier Radiant, in hopes of addressing the problem. The analyst noted that shipping times for the iPhone 6s Plus are already pushed out 3 to 4 weeks after the official Sept. 25 launch. He expects a more severe shortage of the iPhone 6s Plus at launch, chiefly due to alleged production bottlenecks with the backlight module. Radiant and Apple have worked together before, as the supplier creates backlight modules for the iPad mini. Given the fact that the iPad mini’s 7.9-inch screen is relatively close to the iPhone 6s Plus’s 5.5-inch display, Kuo believes Radiant may be “more skilled” at producing backlight modules in that size range than Minebea.
