Supplier hopes rest on iPhone 7

Apple Inc's expected September launch of its iPhone 7 series is still more than a month away, but the tech market is abuzz with talk of whether that would help bail out Apple's suppliers of parts and components.

The latter have been on a rough ride ever since the global tech giant announced a sharp drop in its January-March revenue, or its fiscal 2016 Q2 earnings.

Suppliers in Taiwan province may be in recession for the first time this year, affected by Apple's flagging performance and falling demand for smartphones globally.