Waiting times have increased to no less than 6 weeks

Oct 27, 2017 09:45 GMT  ·  By

Apple kicked off the pre-order program for the iPhone X a few hours ago, and just like expected, demand is overwhelming, with the November 3 batch sold out in just 10 minutes.

Unfortunately for Apple customers who hoped to get their hands on an iPhone X without having stay up until midnight, shipping times for the device have increased substantially and have just reached 6 weeks, according to Apple’s official store page.

This means that if you pre-order an iPhone X today, there’s a good chance you’ll get it in the second week of December, if Apple doesn’t do any magic and get more units ready faster – the company has a good track on doing this, however it could be harder to do it now given the production struggles and the incredible demand for the device.

Both the 64GB and the 256GB versions of the iPhone X show the same shipping estimate, even though the latter sold out faster, probably as a result of Apple getting fewer units ready.

More units ready by the end of the year

The huge waiting times are said to be caused primarily by constrained supply for the November 3 launch, as manufacturers have struggled with low yield rates due to the complex nature of iPhone X parts.

The 3D sensing cameras powering the facial recognition system have caused particular trouble to suppliers, with Apple recently rumored to have downgraded Face ID accuracy in an attempt to speed up production. Apple has since denied such reports.

Analysts estimate iPhone X production to accelerate in November, and this translates to more units ready for customers in December. Bigger sales and no waiting times for the iPhone X are expected to be recorded in early 2018 when Apple and suppliers should reach the desired production speed.

At this point, the only chance to get an iPhone X sooner is to either find one in an Apple Store on November 3 or just buy one from a carrier if any are still available.