Munster: iPhone 8 Should Be Delivered On Time

If Apple Inc. AAPL will deliver the iPhone 8 on time, investors might need to pay close attention to what Finisar Corporation FNSR's management said.

Finisar is likely one of Apple's VCSEL array suppliers, which is a key technology that adds 3D sensing capabilities and advanced augmented reality applications, Loup Ventures' Gene Munster commented in a Sept. 7 blog post. Specifically, the company said in July it's experiencing a delay in customer approval for their VCSEL production units and was forced to push out production shipments to October.

But Finisar also expects the problem will be solved by the end of October and it can begin shipping large quantities of its products in January 2018, Munster noted. Finisar also said that when it reaches full capacity, it will see revenues reaching the $30 million mark.

Since Finisar is confident it can solve this problem quickly, then it's not likely to affect the iPhone launch, Munster said. In the meantime, Apple will likely have a sufficient supply of VCSEL arrays to support initial demand for the iPhone from Lumentum who is "shipping everything they can produce."

If Finisar's issues does extend beyond October, then it could indeed delay iPhone orders.

Munster suggested that only the iPhone Pro model will make use of the VCSE arrays for 3D sensing and the company will ship a total of 133 million iPhone units in the back half of 2017, of which, 43 percent will include 3D sensing. In 2018, Apple is modeled to ship 239 million iPhone units and 67 percent of these will include 3D sensing technologies.

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