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From the moment Apple unveiled the iPhone 10, there'due south been business organisation over whether demand for the new device would pull sales away from the iPhone 8/8 Plus, and leave Apple scrambling to fill orders with what was initially intended as a halo production. We saw a similar situation with the iPhone 5s and 5c, when Apple launched the budget device expecting to gain market share, simply to come across a majority of its customers stampede towards the iPhone 5s instead.

This is, on the i hand, a ridiculously skilful problem to take, and I imagine certain executives at Apple tree are exultation all the way to the banking concern. Merely a lack-of-availability issue could accident up in Apple'southward face if the visitor isn't conscientious. A recent story from DigiTimes implies this may be the case, with an estimated first shipment of Apple iPhone Xs simply recently parting Foxconn with a measly 46,500 devices between them.

Even with Foxconn reportedly stepping up its production goal from 100,000 to 400,000 per week, in that location's only a fleck more than than ii weeks left until the iPhone X launch. Four hundred thousand per week gives Apple roughly 4 million phones by the end of the year. That's not tiny, but it'due south not much compared with Apple'south typical quarterly shipments, either. Apple's vacation sales (Q1 of the company's financial quarter) have been in the 75 million range in the last few years, and ~fifty million for several years before that. Iv meg phones is basically pocket change, even if the iPhone X carries a college profit margin than the iPhone 8 and viii Plus.

Apple-iPhone-iPad-Macs-sales-2016

The worst-instance scenario for Apple would be for customers to convert their involvement in a high-end phone from Apple tree to Samsung if they can't get an iPhone X (less likely), or to only sit out the initial rush birthday. The closer we become to the launch of a new phone, the more likely people are to sit back and wait to see what features Apple will introduce with either the iPhone 9 (if it keeps its former numbering standard) or the iPhone 11 (if it leapfrogs the X). It's actually a smart move to wait: Why spend $1,000 on an anniversary telephone when the technologies information technology debuts are likely to come to cheaper devices in less than a twelvemonth?

Ironically, Apple's first-mover status is likely to bite information technology here. Usually, Apple could try to proceed certain features as standard to only the iPhone X, in much the same way that it once offered optical prototype stabilization only on its larger phones. Just the larger cell telephone market has e'er taken certain cues from Apple, which is why we meet headphone jacks vanishing from devices only one time Apple took the plunge first (yep, in other ways, Apple is playing take hold of-upward with the iPhone X, but that'due south orthogonal to the point). One time Apple starts talking about its new Face up ID camera or even-smaller bezels, other companies will commencement calculation those features as well. The iPhone X may accept made headlines on account of beingness unique, only if the mobile market has shown us anything, it'due south that uniqueness doesn't last.

Apple will bring at to the lowest degree some iPhone X features to the larger iPhone marketplace; the simply question is when. It's somewhat ironic the company's most iconic device since the original iPhone could cause it no shortage of sales issues, especially if production remains low. Right now, the Confront ID TrueDepth camera is existence touted every bit the problem, though we've also seen slowdowns attributed to the phone'south OLED screen. Preorders for the device begin October 27. Lookout man for skyrocketing shipment times–they'll exist the surest sign Apple is unable to encounter demand from pre-existing supply.