Amid reports that iPhone 8 sales aren’t exactly setting the world on fire, Roger Communications CEO Joe Natale intimated that iPhone 8 sales may be even lower than initially imagined. During an earnings conference call this week, Natale said (via CBC) that demand for the iPhone 8 thus far has been “anemic.” Notably, Roger Communications is the largest wireless carrier in Canada, which is to say that Natale’s remarks should carry some weight.
Although Tim Cook a few weeks ago said that he was thrilled with iPhone 8 sales, it’s getting harder to ignore the growing chorus of reports relaying that demand for the iPhone 8 simply isn’t there. In fact, we’ve even seen reports that there’s greater demand for the iPhone 7 than there is for the iPhone 8. More recently, word surfaced that Apple decided to cut iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus production in half. Even taking into account what may very well be staggering demand for the iPhone X, slashing iPhone 8 production by 50% isn’t exactly an encouraging sign. If anything, it strongly suggests that iPhone 8 demand is significantly lower than what Apple was anticipating.
All that said, the real test for Apple will be whether or not consumers flock to the iPhone X in droves. Set to be released in early November, the iPhone X marks the first real redesign to the iPhone form factor in more than three years, a fact which leads many analysts to believe that demand will be off the charts.
Nonetheless, Apple will reportedly struggle to meet initial demand due to some early production problems associated with manufacturing components for the iPhone X’s TrueDepth camera system. To this point, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo issued a research note earlier today stating that Apple will only have 2-3 million iPhone X units at its disposal once launch day arrives. As far as typical iPhone launches are concerned, that’s a paltry amount to say the least.
Regarding the impending iPhone X launch, Natale added: “The iPhone 10 price point is about 75 per cent higher than the iPhone 7. So it’s a very expensive device. Inventory is a question mark in terms of what we will get.”
Suffice it to say, if you want to get your hands on an iPhone X without having to wait until 2018, you’d be well advised to complete the pre-order process as quickly as possible come October 27.
