It turns not that many people are clamoring to purchase an iPhone X, according to analysts.
They have lowered iPhone X shipment projections for Q1 2018, claiming underwhelming demand for the $1,000 phone at the end of the holiday shopping season.
iPhone X Demand Decreasing?
Shipments in the first quarter of next year might be as low as 35 million, according to Zhang Bin, a Sinolink Securities Co. analyst. This number is 10 million less than his previous estimate. Zhang says that after Apple has satisfied the first wave of demand, the market is now worried that the phone's expensive price tag will weaken demand in the upcoming fiscal period.
New York-based research company JL Warren Capital LLC makes a prediction in roughly the same ballpark, claiming that iPhone X shipments will drop to 25 million in Q1 2018, citing diminished orders at several Apple suppliers. Like Zhang, the company thinks it's because demand for the device is going to weaken due to its high price, in addition to "lack of interesting innovations."
Furthermore, according to Economic Daily News, a publication in Taiwan, Apple is believed to have cut down Q1 2018 sales forecast from 50 million to just 30 million. It also claims that a main manufacturing facility in China that makes iPhone X devices has stopped recruiting employees.
Do People Want Cheaper iPhones?
It appears consumers are choosing to go for cheaper iPhone models instead of the iPhone X, according to Cowen & Co., which claims that the Cupertino brand failed to introduce new technology that's compelling enough to warrant the device's $1,000 price point. Take note: it is the most expensive smartphone by far, and it's set a precedent to a brand-new category of "extra-premium" handsets.
Perhaps Apple could introduce other devices in the future with some of the technology packed inside iPhone X, such as Face ID, and offer it for a lower price, if only to cover a wider price range. Not many people would probably readily shell out $1,000 for a new phone, especially if it offers very few innovations aside from promising augmented reality technology and advanced facial recognition.
Even still, there's something to be said about Apple's strength in brand loyalty. Apple fans are some of the most enthusiastic in the world, and they're Apple's biggest strength. Yet loyalty can only go so far. While Face ID and notional AR implementations keep Apple fans thrilled for the future of iPhone, other issues, such as lack of AR apps, have cooled buyer interest in those technologies, according to Bloomberg.
