Apple forced to cut down iPhone X production by half due to slow sales

Apple iPhone X was unveiled in September last year, followed by its launch in November. Despite being ridiculously expensive, the 10th anniversary model of iPhones introduced some never-seen-before features like the Face ID with 3D facial recognition technology, edge-to-edge screen, and the TrueDepth camera. However, as many analysts predicted, the device failed to match up to Apple's expectations in terms of sales.

As a result, Apple has been forced to slash the iPhone X production by half for the period between January to March 2018. According to the latest report by Nikkei Asian Review, the numbers have gone down to 20 million units from the earlier planned 40 million units. The report further reveals, the Cupertino-based tech giant has notified the suppliers that it has decided to cut the iPhone X manufacturing due to lower-than-expected sales in the US, Europe and China.

"With components deliveries delayed, Apple had struggled to keep up with demand for the iPhone X immediately after its launch. Rising inventories appear to have pushed the company to sharply slow production," noted the report.

"Looking forward, the lackluster sales could result in a delay to the company's plans to introduce OLED screens in other iPhone models," further added the report.

It is worth mentioning, this production cut won't just impact Apple but also Samsung, which is currently the sole provider of the OLED displays of the iPhone X. Basically, manufacturers that supply the high-performance components for the smartphone will get affected, resulting in a loss of billions of dollars for the January-March quarter alone.

Last week, an analyst associated with Taiwanese business group KGI Securities said that more sluggish-than-expected response may force Apple to discontinue the iPhone X around mid-2018 as the second-generation model is expected to get launched in fall this year.

However, the renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes, the company not sell the iPhone X at a lower price as it will hurt its other products in the lower-priced premium segment. According to his estimations, Apple will ship about 18 million iPhone X units in the January-March quarter.

For comparison, Apple shipped 29 million iPhone X units in the fourth quarter of 2017, found out by Singapore-based market research firm Canalys.

Written using IANS outputs.