Apple is going to discontinue iPhone X in the next few months unlike the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
According to a new report by KGI Securities’ Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo on Apple Insider, the company may discontinue the phone altogether as the new model is launched, rather than retaining it.
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Lackluster Sales
At the end of its life, iPhone X is expected to have sales of 62 million units, which is significantly lower than the 80 million which were estimated earlier. Apple is expected to ship 18 million units of the phone in the first quarter of 2018, which is a lower figure than somewhere between 20 and 30 million, which was initially expected.
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The number was down partly due to the cool reaction the phone received in China. Its notch was also considered to have turned people off, who thought it reduced the screen size. The last phone that Apple killed after its first year was the ill-fated, cheap iPhone 5C.
iPhone X Plus
The phone’s technologies will be used in upcoming devices like the so-called iPhone X Plus. For the current year, Apple is expected to unveil three separate devices, including larger 6.1-inch, and 6.5-inch OLED phones.
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In part, the low sales of the iPhone X are due to the sustained growth of iPhone 6 and 7 lines. According to CIRP, the 2017 models made up for less than two-thirds (61%) of all Apple smartphones sold last quarter, with the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus combined still beating the iPhone X.
Super Cycle
The 2017 models might rebound as part of a “Super Cycle”, which has arrived because of having three high-end phones on sale, resulting in a 5% lift in sales. By the end of 2018, Apple might end up experiencing a 10% increase in sales.
Now as people will get replacement batteries for $29, why they’ll buy a new phone instead? Most of them will stick to older models.