Shipping times for Apple’s new iPhone X have improved drastically, but is it due to a lack of demand for the smartphone? One key analyst wades in on the debate.
When the iPhone X finally debuted for retail purchase at the beginning of the month, the tech world went into a frenzy. Shipping times for the phone quickly rocketed to six weeks, and the handset emerged on eBay with listings priced as high as £5,000 per handset.
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Since then, the situation appears to have calmed. Apple now estimates that most customers will receive their iPhone X devices within one to two weeks, which means anyone ordering now should receive their device well in advance of Christmas.
Some have speculated that this improvement in shipping times is due to a lack of demand, but Ming-Chi Kuo disagrees. Kuo is a well-respected industry analyst who has been waxing prophetic on Apple’s fortunes for years, and has snubbed rumours of a slowdown in iPhone X demand in an investor note seen by AppleInsider.
According to Kuo, the shipping time improvements are actually the result of optimisations made in Apple’s supply chain.
It was originally believed that Apple was struggling to meet demand early on due to the difficult of producing some of the trickier components – like the new OLED screen, or the Face ID authentication system.
Now, however, it’s believed that major component suppliers for the iPhone X have significantly increased their production yield, making it possible to deliver the phone to customers more quickly – huzzah!
Apple revealed the iPhone X back in September, making noise about the 10th anniversary iPhone’s pixel-dense display, all-screen front design, and facial recognition capabilities. It starts from £999 in the UK, rising to £1,149 for the top model.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
