Yield rates for the new iPhone said to improve

Oct 17, 2017 06:06 GMT  ·  By

One of the rumors making the rounds lately points to a delay of the new iPhone X, as Apple has reportedly been struggling to increase the yield rate and boost production of the device.

But new sources close to the manufacturing process say they’re not aware of any possible delay of the iPhone X, revealing that yield rates have been improved and become more stable, according to DigiTimes.

Until now, it was believed that the 3D sensing camera modules were the ones causing the biggest trouble for Apple, and the people familiar with the matter now claim that production yield rates of this particular component are also increasing. And yet, while this can only be good news for Apple, it turns out that the company’s production demand would only be met ahead of the winter holiday season, the report adds.

On the other hand, chip deliveries have been on track so far, and an increase in terms of orders is expected to take place in the remaining months of the year, with a slowdown predicted for early 2018.

Production won’t meet demand until early 2018

The sources “from Apple’s supply chain” thus expect the iPhone X to flood the market in November and December, which is just another indication that the device would only be available in limited numbers when the company starts selling the model early next month.

Furthermore, given the estimated sales for the iPhone X, Apple suppliers don’t believe it is possible to satisfy all demand earlier than the first quarter of 2018, meaning that shipments could be pushed back a few weeks once the device goes out of stock in specific markets.

In other words, the iPhone X will indeed hit the shelves on November 3, but more units would become available as they are manufactured and shipped to stores across the world. The iPhone X will thus be a hard to find device in the next 2 months, despite its pretty big price.

The pre-order program will kick off on October 27, so it’ll be interesting to see if Apple manages to stick with its promised shipping dates.