iPhone X Production Supposedly Going Much Slower Than Apple Originally Planned

[Pbrutto]

There is no way IN HELL that Apple would wait to produce as many of these as possible right now, it is 100%, without a doubt, a manufacturing issue when they don’t have enough of these on launch day. Apple knows average purchase rates for every iPhone launch, and the numbers from the 8. They know people are waiting. I would be a little worried if I was TC right now. Are people gonna buy them? Absolutly. Are they gonna have a media ********* if they don’t get par levels till March? You betcha.

 

[Sy7ygy]

Just realized that even this device has a the dumb camera bump.

Notch on the front, bump on the back. What a tortured soul it is.

 

[Dydegu]

Couldn't wait until 2018 for a new phone. Picked up the 8 Plus 64GB, Space Gray (upgraded from a 6 Plus).

I love it.

 

[WannaGoMac]

I think you're right about the US market, where the price of the X is the lowest and you have all sorts of carrier subsidies.

But the US market is just one piece.

Outside you have horrible prices - here where I live the 256Gb X is the equivalent of $1435 (and given the lack of expandable storage, this is the one to get), which is bonkers for a mobile phone. No carrier discounts either, the best you can do is like a 2-year payment program, but you have to absorb the whole cost, and Swiss carriers charge a lot as well, so this will really sting.

The X is playing in the Vertu market, i.e. niche phone to socially signal your wealth. I doubt it will sell that well. Look at Vertu.

I can afford it, in fact given the payment plans most people can afford it. Its basically $10/month difference between the 8+ and the X. Big deal. Skip a starbucks or bring lunch to work one day a month and you've got your X.

It's really silly that folks think Apple phones are at all a status symbol anymore. I've seen janitors walking around with iphone pluses now...

 

[Xgm541]

Having worked in supplier management for years in a large engineering company, one of the most basic management activities is to hold weekly meetings with the supplier to mitigate/track the risk of new technology and part availability as it relates to phase in of the production cycle. I don't understand how "parts" could be a problem this late in the game unless:
1) supplier was lying to Apple
2) one of the supplier's suppliers was lying
3) natural disaster took out a key factory.

While harnessing Asia as a tech workforce has for the most part, worked out well, one negative aspect is the Asian mindset of "saving face" even if that means lying about how well things are going. I wonder if this is the root of it?

I would imagine (and i've not worked in supplier management) that with such large quantities of products where each part of the supply chain is crucial, there isnt just a promise of "yeah we'll do it for sure". There's probably a legal document involved somewhere about liability if the supplier can't meet demand.

 

[frankly]

The one thing that no one seems to be talking about is that many of us are on annual upgrade plans now, whether through the Apple iPhone Upgrade Program or through one of the carrier plans. The way that these work is that you have to have paid a certain number of months before you are allowed to upgrade. So, for the Apple plan it is six months time since you got the phone and 12 payments. Well, when the phones were coming out every September on a predictable schedule that was a good plan. However, if we don't get the X until say January or February, that will mean that we will have paid more like 18 months on the previous phone and if the 2018 phone comes out in September without delays, we will only have paid 8 months on the X when it is time to upgrade.

 

[slippery-pete]

They're not intentionally slowing down anything. Some components are shipping faster than other components.

EX: Supplier A can make 100 cameras/hour. Supplier B can make 10 processors an hour. Apple can only make 10 iPhones an hour and would have to find some way to store 90 camera modules/hour until Supplier B could catch up.

They're asking supplier A to only deliver 10 cameras/hour so they don't have to warehouse the difference.

So when Apple enters into contracts with suppliers, you don't think there is a baseline for the amount they will produce/send to Apple in a specified period of time? And no, if the contract is for say 1000 items per day, a supplier is not sending 4000. Sorry, not buying one supplier is sending them 10,000 components a day and another supplier 5000...

 

[mi7chy]

Pre-orders must be really low for Apple to lower production this early.

 

[dampfnudel]

I think you're right about the US market, where the price of the X is the lowest and you have all sorts of carrier subsidies.

But the US market is just one piece.

Outside you have horrible prices - here where I live the 256Gb X is the equivalent of $1435 (and given the lack of expandable storage, this is the one to get), which is bonkers for a mobile phone. No carrier discounts either, the best you can do is like a 2-year payment program, but you have to absorb the whole cost, and Swiss carriers charge a lot as well, so this will really sting.

The X is playing in the Vertu market, i.e. niche phone to socially signal your wealth. I doubt it will sell that well. Look at Vertu.

What carrier subsidies in the US? They're no longer being offered. It's pay full now or pay full or more over a a period of two years.

 

[jamesrick80]

Like I already said, I don’t think Apple had any intentions of releasing the X this year. Other manufacturers and rumors forced Apple to rush this and its showing. They knew they couldn’t get away with another “s” release.

True they were gonna try and get away with another S type release at first. But the people, media, and investors would have rampaged them. The iPhone 8 and Plus were met to be the only iPhones released this year.

Why would you go through all the trouble of giving it a glass back and the upgraded processor and camera if it wasn't met to be the iPhone of this year? Why introduce three devices instead of just two? Why maintain touch ID on the iPhone 8 with a entirely different tech on the X? That tells you the X was not met to be released this year. It probably truly was met to be the actual iPhone 9 in 2018 or it's true name, the iPhone 10 in 2019.

Ultimately, this is what happens when you play catch up.

 

[SharepointGuy]

The one thing that no one seems to be talking about is that many of us are on annual upgrade plans now, whether through the Apple iPhone Upgrade Program or through one of the carrier plans. The way that these work is that you have to have paid a certain number of months before you are allowed to upgrade. So, for the Apple plan it is six months time since you got the phone and 12 payments. Well, when the phones were coming out every September on a predictable schedule that was a good plan. However, if we don't get the X until say January or February, that will mean that we will have paid more like 18 months on the previous phone and if the 2018 phone comes out in September without delays, we will only have paid 8 months on the X when it is time to upgrade.

Cue hundreds of thousands of pissed off and angry customers that they will need to pay off the full 12 months (potentially upwards of $160 dollars) in order to upgrade early. I can see this going over real well.

 

[jamesrick80]

Pre-orders must be really low for Apple to lower production this early.

The problem is .......they haven't even started preorders. If they start now, at least they can have a idea of whats necessary to produce. They could at least do preorders in Waves or batches like how Microsoft does it with the Xbox one X (sidenote I believe the iPhone wanted the X title yet changed it back to 10 due to the Xbox one having it).

Essentially preorders are zero.

 

[Deliro]

All the reason to skip this phone.. With lower than expected production and pressure on the manufacturing/supply chain units the phone may be rushed and demonstrate faults. My 7 Plus will hold me over until the X2 or however Apple markets it.

 

[ucant]

That means the iPhone X is not going to release on November!!!

 

[KevinMac]

That’s why they need to bring some production back to the U.S.

 

[Steve121178]

With every day that passes, I'm more happy about my 8 Plus purchase. Seems like the X launch is going to be messy.

I'm fairly certain you won't be as thrilled when you see the X for yourself and see how it is better than any iPhone before it in every possible way.

 

[bunnicula]

Hope you're really lucky and fast on pre-order morning... demand on the X is insane and unlike any previous model. It's first generation, plus pent-up demand, plus low production yields, plus a lackluster 8/8+ release.

Me, if I see it in 2017 I'll consider that lucky, early 2018 is more realistic, even a few minutes after the store goes online.

We shall see. This one might break my streak, but I did have every other model of these phones on launch day because I ordered within the first couple of minutes of the store going up and I am usually flexible around what color I want. I am not flexible on size this year, as 64 isn't enough and I need 256. If there was a 256 and a 128 or a 256 and a 512, I would be less worried about getting this order in. But, 64 isn't something I can do without really changing my usage habits.
[doublepost=1506364353][/doublepost]

I think you're right about the US market, where the price of the X is the lowest and you have all sorts of carrier subsidies.

But the US market is just one piece.

Outside you have horrible prices - here where I live the 256Gb X is the equivalent of $1435 (and given the lack of expandable storage, this is the one to get), which is bonkers for a mobile phone. No carrier discounts either, the best you can do is like a 2-year payment program, but you have to absorb the whole cost, and Swiss carriers charge a lot as well, so this will really sting.

The X is playing in the Vertu market, i.e. niche phone to socially signal your wealth. I doubt it will sell that well. Look at Vertu.

Mine will largely have to "signal" from inside my house because I work remote and I'm not one to wave my phone at people when I'm out and about.


[doublepost=1506364497][/doublepost]

That’s why they need to bring some production back to the U.S.

Okay... I'll bite... how will this help?

 

[frankly]

Pre-orders must be really low for Apple to lower production this early.

There are no pre-orders for the iPhone X. Period.

True they were gonna try and get away with another S type release at first. But the people, media, and investors would have rampaged them. The iPhone 8 and Plus were met to be the only iPhones released this year.

Why would you go through all the trouble of giving it a glass back and the upgraded processor and camera if it wasn't met to be the iPhone of this year? Why introduce three devices instead of just two? Why maintain touch ID on the iPhone 8 with a entirely different tech on the X? That tells you the X was not met to be released this year. It probably truly was met to be the actual iPhone 9 in 2018 or it's true name, the iPhone 10 in 2019.

Ultimately, this is what happens when you play catch up.

1. Because it was the natural upgrade cycle for that phone.
2. Because they knew they couldn't get the price of the iPhone X lower than $999 and there is no way that the average customer was going to pay that much.
3. So that they could keep the cost of the 8/8 Plus down to a reasonable level for the average consumer.

None of what you said makes any sense in the context that you are trying to make it make sense.

Cue hundreds of thousands of pissed off and angry customers that they will need to pay off the full 12 months (potentially upwards of $160 dollars) in order to upgrade early. I can see this going over real well.

It could easily be over $200. Remember that the top model is $55 per month. If Ming-Chi Kuo's estimate of reaching saturation in the first half of 2018 was referring to the calendar year, there could easily be people with only six months paid on the X. If so, that will push their final payment up around $350.

 

[bchreng]

All the reason to skip this phone.. With lower than expected production and pressure on the manufacturing/supply chain units the phone may be rushed and demonstrate faults. My 7 Plus will hold me over until the X2 or however Apple markets it.

But the higher resolution AMOLED display and dual OIS cameras on the back though

 

[jamesrick80]

There are no pre-orders for the iPhone X. Period.

1. Because it was the natural upgrade cycle for that phone.
2. Because they knew they couldn't get the price of the iPhone X lower than $999 and there is no way that the average customer was going to pay that much.
3. So that they could keep the cost of the 8/8 Plus down to a reasonable level for the average consumer.

None of what you said makes any sense in the context that you are trying to make it make sense.
.

And you must be Apple's next door neighbor because my opinions make as much sense as your opinions.

 

[Spooner83]

If this is the future of Apple, to release new phones by creating a buzz and halting the release, I'm going to a different phone. I love Apple, I'm such a fan, but I don't like this style of marketing. It's too hard on the customer. I like the old Apple, where customers got what they want in a reasonable turn around and Apple still made millions. Apple is losing their touch.

 

[rafark]

I believe it. There are too many sources pointing to it, and all of the biggest rumores about the iPhone x were true, why can't this be? D:

 

[mi7chy]

There are no pre-orders for the iPhone X. Period.

No pre-order is for end users. Doesn't say anything about pre-order interest from retailers and etailers.

 

[JaisHTX]

The people saying Apple is deliberately constraining supply to create a shortage are just plain crazy. The pent up demand for the X clearly shows people are willing to pay the high prices. And we know people are holding off buying the 8 so they can buy the X. So, every iPhone X Apple fails to make is just money they are leaving on the table. No sane company would deliberately underproduce a product when this high amount of demand has clearly been demonstrated.

It seems pretty obvious that Apple is having a hard time manufacturing one or more of the components for the X and has to slow down overall production so it doesn’t end up with a bunch of other components sitting in a warehouse. No way are they deliberately not making as much money as they otherwise would be.

Unless the margins on the 8/8+ are greater than the X. Then they may try to push as many sales as possible to the 8/8+. Apple probably has the best strategists/analysts looking at this, and they will make the best decision for their bottom line.

 

[SeaFox]

Apple is allegedly waiting to see how many iPhone X pre-orders it receives, and monitoring how well the already-released iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus sell, before fully ramping up production overseas.

Is Apple under some weird idea the iPhone X will not be a hit and doesn't want to get stuck with stock? Or is the plan, if the iPhone 8 isn't selling well, that Apple will reduce the iPhone X production to make it harder to obtain to keep from cannibalizing iPhone 8 sales?