14 DAY TRIAL // Sales of the iPhone 8 lineup have been rather slow so far, with analysts estimating that the iPhone 7 is actually selling better right now, but there’s a good reason why all of these are happening.
With the more substantially-overhauled iPhone X just around the corner, more potential new iPhone buyers are holding onto their purchases until the device goes live, thus not showing any interest in the iPhone 8 at all.
This is what Rogers Communications Chief Executive Joe Natale said in a recent earnings conference call, explaining that the Canadian carrier hasn’t recorded any significant sales of the iPhone 8.
“What we’re seeing is sort of ... anemic appetite for the iPhone 8,” Natale was quoted as saying in a Reuters report.
Too expensive smartphone
But even though the iPhone X is the device that everyone seems to be waiting for, the Rogers CEO believes that’s going to be a risky bet, especially because of the price. The iPhone X will go on sale on November 3, and pricing will start at $999 for the base level, while the top configuration will cost $1,149.
“The iPhone X price point is about 75 percent higher than the iPhone 7. So it’s a very expensive device,” he continued. “Inventory is a question mark in terms of what we will get.”
While the inventory is indeed an issue that Apple is trying to deal with as we speak, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that approximately 3 million iPhone X units would be available at launch, with supply to increase substantially in November.
Until now, production of the iPhone X has advanced at a rather slow pace due to technical issues that suppliers experienced with various parts, but Kuo says that most of them are projecting bigger output for the next month. iPhone X are thus expected to reach record levels in early 2018 when supply will no longer be an issue in the biggest markets worldwide.