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New report suggests iPhone 8 and 8 Plus sales have been awful

Published Oct 19th, 2017 7:47AM EDT
iPhone 8 Plus Vs iPhone X
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

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Apple shares dropped 1.5% during Thursday’s pre-market session following a report that Apple has slashed production orders for November and December on its two brand new iPhone models.

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 launched last month, and they represent two of the best smartphones in the world right now. They also feature an outdated design from 2014 that many people are bored with. With the company’s first completely redesigned iPhone set to be released in just two weeks, several reports have suggested that Apple fans are holding out for the iPhone X rather than buying the iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus. Now, it appears as though those earlier reports were spot on.

A few unverified claims that iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus sales were actually better than expected now seem misguided as Taiwan-based industry news site Economic Daily News reports that Apple has cut iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus production for November and December. We’re not talking about minor cuts here, mind you. According to the report, Apple has slashed orders by an unprecedented 50%.

The report cites an unnamed supply chain official and while the claims cannot be verified at this time, Economic Daily News has a solid track record when reporting on supply chain news.

Despite its sky-high price point that starts at $1,000 for the entry-level model with 64GB of storage, Apple fans are believed to be passing on the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in favor of Apple’s upcoming iPhone X. The phone features a completely new design with an all-screen face that ditches the home button in favor of the best screen-to-body ration in the industry. The phone is also Apple’s first to ship with Face ID in place of Touch ID. The new tech uses advanced facial recognition technology to unlock the phone and authenticate payments, instead of a fingerprint scanner.

Preorders for Apple’s new iPhone X begin next Friday, and the phone will then be released a week later on November 3rd.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.