Where do Apple rumors come from? Digitimes explains

Digitimes Research sheds some light on the the Apple supply chain -- the source of many a rumor -- before the release of the product.

With a large-screen iPhone 6 possibly showing up this year, Digitimes Research provides some insight into where and when Apple rumors likely originate.

In an article posted Friday titled Explaining the Chaiwan Model for the Mobile Supply Chain, Digitimes Research talked about, among other things, timing.

"We may provide shipment data for Apple 1-2 months before [the product] even begins selling in the market, because that is when the supply chain delivers it to Apple," Digitimes Research said.

That may explain the crush of relatively reliable rumors that typically hit about a month before the product appears.

But there are stages before that. "When Apple is getting a product ready for the market, the product is in the supply chain pipeline 6-9 months before Apple even announces its launch," Digitimes Research said.

That assertion about a product being at suppliers but still going through changes six to nine months before release sheds light on some of the more dubious rumors that appear early on.

And where does the process begin?

"A brand like Apple or Samsung controls everything in the process of bringing their products to market...For example, it starts with the key component provider, which in the case of smartphones is the application processor."

So, a chip, like the Apple A7, or rumored A8 -- generally referred to as application processors -- may play a big part in the early stages of the product.

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Where do Apple rumors come from? Digitimes explains