【Lina Romay】

The Lina Romayrumors and speculation swirling around the iPhone 8 have officially jumped the shark into the unfounded and absurd.

A research note penned by a JP Morgan analyst suggests there's a "high likelihood" that the upcoming iPhone 8 will be announced at Apple's 2017 World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, with a release in the fall.

This bucks every other report we've heard about the device's development and anticipated release schedule -- and we've heard a ton -- and seven years of precedent to boot.

Apple hasn't showed off an upcoming iPhone at WWDC since 2010, when Steve Jobs debuted the iPhone 4. (In recent years, new iPhones have been announced in September, although there might be a few slight delays this time around.)

The assertion isn't based on any insider info, or any information at all, really. There was no supply chain leak or internal anonymous source here, according to 9to5Mac, which obtained the note. Instead, the analyst based his claims--which are provided to the firm's investors--on nothing more than a hunch.

The note comes on the heels of Apple's most recent quarterly earnings report. The company made $52.9 billion in revenue, but iPhone sales were a bit of a sore spot after a comedown from Q1 2017's record haul.

During a Q&A session following the earnings call, CEO Tim Cook essentially blamed this sales slump on the iPhone 8 rumor mill. Given that attitude, extending the iPhone 7's lame duck period is the last thing Apple would want.

What makes this "leak" particularly egregious in part comes from its timing. We just heard from another questionably sourced research note that the ballyhooed device might not even be released until 2018.

Enough is enough

We're getting massively mixed signals here, and I, for one, have had enough.

Because of the massive importance of the iPhone -- if you want to contest that, just look at its impact on the bottom line of the world's second most valuable company -- it's well worth following the development of its latest and greatest iteration.

The upcoming model holds even more weight than usual. It's the tenth anniversary of the device, so Apple likely wants to do something special -- not to mention the design of the phone hasn't been updated since the iPhone 6 in 2014, making it long overdue for an overhaul. Anticipation has never been higher.

"Speculation about the iPhone 8 or whatever it will be called is high since it also is the 10th anniversary of the iPhone," Creative Strategies President Tim Bajarin told MashableChief Correspondent Lance Ulanoff, confirming the hubbub. "We have talked to many people who believe this new iPhone will have a significant new design with key upgrades and are holding off purchasing a new one until then."

That's part of why it's so important that we keep track of all the developments we can about its production. So when analysts throw out less than informed guesses without much more than a hunch to back up their claims, it's frustrating.

As Lance wrote, the rumor cycle is arguably good for Apple. I can tell you it's good for #content, and it's good for everyone who loves getting excited about the flashiest new phones. But it turns sour when we flush it full of dodgy info.

(Editor: {typename type="name"/})