iPhone 8 release date: At least some premium phone models will be ready for launch, suggest Apple earnings

There had been some concern that the more expensive version of the handset wouldn't be ready for months

Apple CEO Tim Cook shows off the new iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch during an Apple special event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts on September 9, 2014 in Cupertino, California (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Apple will release its new iPhone next month and have at least some handsets ready when it does, its latest earnings suggest.

Analysts had been concerned that problems with making the phone could lead to delays in it being released. Any such a change was likely to cause a major hit to iPhone demand, especially since Apple had indicated some customers were refraining from buying new phones while they waited for the new one.

Apple is expected to launch at least three models of the phone at an event in September. As well as the traditional bump in the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus, there's also expected to be another model – the iPhone 8, Pro, X, or another name entirely – that will be more expensive and pack in more features.

Many of those features seem to involve new manufacturing techniques that experts had worried would lead to a limited supply of the new handset. Many had suggested that the phone wouldn't be available for a few weeks after its September launch date – while some even said the phone might not be available in significant numbers until nearer Christmas or into 2018.

But Apple's guidance appeared to be optimistic about the number of phones it's going to make. There is no significant dip predicted in the amount of handsets it will sell next quarter – significant given any delay could cause huge drops in sales – in keeping with generally optimistic guidance all round.

The company said that it expected to earn as much as $52 billion in the last quarter of 2017, more than the $49.1 billion that analysts had expected. Apple does have other big products coming out in that same period – including the debut of its HomePod smart speaker – but since Apple's revenues are made up overwhelmingly of iPhone sales, it's likely that any improvement will come from the same source.

Tim Cook also seemed to suggest there wouldn't be any major problems after the launch period, in interviews conducted around the results. “We’ve put everything we know into coming up with the guidance…we really like what we see for the beginning of the back-to-school season," he told Bloomberg.

The new premium iPhone is expected to include new screen technology, a display that wraps around the entire front of the phone, and a special system that can recognise its owner and unlock the handset, among other features. A significant number of details about the new handset were leaked this week after Apple accidentally released some code onto the internet.