iPhone 7 Leaked Pics, Suppliers Prepping For High Production Suggest Possible Home Run

Over the weekend, reliable tech, entertainment and lifestyle news site Nowhereelse.fr made public some allegedly leaked images of Apple Inc. AAPL’s new iPhone 7. To the surprise of many fans, the pictures suggest at least three major changes to the device’s design.

The Major Changes

First off, the new photos seem to indicate the new iPhone would include four speakers, instead of two. The four-speakers feature has already been added to the iPad Pro 12.9 and iPad Pro 9.7.

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In addition, the pictures showed a larger camera and a flash that has been re-positioned, suggesting a much better sensor will be added. Finally, the leaked photos showed no headphone jack, an idea Apple has been playing with for a while.

Apple Preparing For A Home Run?

In a separate article published on early Monday, Barron's analysts said that Apple’s Taiwan supply chain manufacturers’ stocks spiked today, driven by media reports of the tech behemoth telling its suppliers to get ready for “much higher-than-expected iPhone 7 production for 2016.”

As per Taiwan’s Economic Daily, Apple has asked suppliers to produce 72 million to 78 million iPhone 7 units by the end of 2016. If this information checks out, the production target would be the highest seen in two years, well above the Street’s expectations for 65 million, and a significant improvement after the company said in January that production of its iPhone 6S and 6S Plus would be cut down by 30 percent.

According to the Taiwanese newspaper, the main assembler of the iPhone 7 will continue to be Hon Hai Precision Technology. Pegatron Corp. will also be involved in the assembly process, sources said.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.