Report Claims Apple Wants to Slow Down iPhone X Production to See How iPhone 8 Sales Perform
A recent insider report claims that Apple has supposedly asked its iPhone X parts suppliers to deliberately slow down production in the hopes that this would effectively boost the iPhone 8's sales.
The report came exclusively from Digitimes which said sources "from Taiwan-based upstream component suppliers" claimed Apple wanted them to slow down the production and delivery of parts intended for the iPhone X so that the iPhone 8 would have enough time to do better in the market.
If the report is accurate, this could mean that in the early weeks of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus' retail release, Apple might have seen an underwhelming number of sales, and ironically, the iPhone X might be the one to blame.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were all unveiled last Sept. 12. However, the iPhone 8 variants have already been released last Sept. 22 – much earlier than the iPhone X's scheduled retail launch on Nov. 3.
Digitimes' sources added that Apple's component suppliers are currently delivering just 40 percent of the amount they were supposed to ship to assembly lines for the iPhone X. However, the report added that even without Apple's unusual request, many of the suppliers were still scrambling to deliver 40 percent of the total agreed quantities needed to produce the iPhone X.
Apple reportedly intends to analyze the flow of the iPhone X pre-orders and the ongoing sales performance of the already out iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus before proceeding to place production into full swing.
The ironic competition between the iPhone X and iPhone 8 was earlier forecasted by KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In a report shared by 9To5Mac, it was argued that the relatively slower iPhone 8 pre-orders could be explained by the fact that the group of consumers who are always eager to secure a new product even before it hits the shelves are most likely the same ones who would prefer to wait for the more high-end iPhone X.
Pre-orders for the iPhone X will start on Oct. 27.
