A variety of reports have said over the past few weeks that the iPhone X isn’t selling as well as Apple had hoped. The iPhone X may have been the best-selling smartphone of the Christmas quarter, but sales momentum was apparently lost after that.
Several reports have said that Apple would cut iPhone X production this quarter. Others also claimed that the iPhone maker is considering discontinuing the phone once the 2018 replacements arrive this fall. Now, a fresh story from Asia reveals things may be even worse than we thought, at least for suppliers who live and die by the iPhone.
A report from Nikkei says that Apple will slash iPhone X production volume in half this quarter because of disappointing holiday-season sales. The combined impact on suppliers that make the components for the iPhone X will run supposedly reach into the billions of dollars.
Samsung already reduced OLED production for the iPhone X by 10%, a report said last week. The iPhone X’s OLED screen is the phone’s most expensive component, priced at $110. It’s also the reason why Apple sells the phone for $1,000 and up. Nikkei says the high entry price of the iPhone X is a likely reason for the drop in sales.
Apple planned to manufacture some 40 million units during the March 2018 quarter, the report says. But Apple supposedly notified suppliers that it’ll cut that initial estimate down to just 20 million units for the period.
Slow sales in key markets including China, Europe, and the US are apparently responsible for Apple’s adjustment. The report also notes that Apple will maintain the total production target of 30 million for the other iPhones it currently sells, including the new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, but also older iPhone models.
The report says that Apple is reevaluating its LCD vs. OLED screen mix for this year’s phones. Apparently, Apple is considering an increase of LCD iPhones at the expense of OLED models. A recent rumor did say that not only will Apple discontinue the iPhone X in September, but it won’t even make a new 5.8-inch OLED version going forward. Instead, just the next-gen 6.5-inch iPhone X successor will get the OLED treatment, according to that report.
