In a general sense, it appears that Apple's effort to double down on product secrecy is paying off. The fact is, it's already mid-May, and we truthfully don't know all that much about the iPhone 7. Sure, we've seen a few reports pass through the rumor mill, but many of those reports seemingly contradict one another, a situation that inevitably brings us back to square one.
While it's widely assumed that the iPhone 7 will sport the same form factor as the iPhone 6s and won't be a blockbuster device, a new report out of Taiwan via CNBC intimates that Apple's next-gen iPhone may be more interesting than most people anticipate.
According to the Economic Daily News, the iPhone 7 is "more complex than previous models," which has led Apple's top two suppliers—Foxconn and Pegatron—to begin their annual round of iPhone-based hiring one month earlier than usual.
Taiwan's Economic Daily News reported on Tuesday that Foxconn, which is also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, and Pegatron, another Apple supplier, had ramped up hiring as they prepared to assemble the newest model iPhones.
The report noted that hiring at both suppliers had kicked off their recruitment seasons at least a month earlier than in previous years in which Apple has launched new iPhones and that it was the first time in two years that Foxconn had started recruiting on the mainland as early as May.
It's important to note that a more complex manufacturing process could refer to any number of things. For instance, it may mean that the internal components of the iPhone 7 are vastly more complex. For the optimists among us, it may mean that Apple—contrary to most rumors we've seen—will, in fact, release a completely new iPhone form factor later this year.
It's also worth mentioning that two iPhone 7 rumors we've seen—a dual camera system and a waterproof design—may also be factors in the decidedly more complex manufacturing process.
Either way, Apple has never been a company to rest on its laurels and simply bask in the glow of its past successes. So, while some industry analysts believe we've reached peak iPhone, such proclamations seem decidedly too premature, especially in light of rumors that a curved OLED iPhone may be just around the corner in 2017.