San Francisco Jan 23 (IANS) More sluggish-than-expected response may lead Apple to discontinue the first-generation iPhone X around mid-2018 as the second-generation model is set for launch later this year an analyst associated with Taiwanese business group KGI Securities has said.
According to Ming-Chi Kuo the most famous analyst with KGI Securities when it comes to Apple the Cupertino-based giant will not sell iPhone X at lower price as it will hurt its other products in the lower-priced premium segment.
Kuo estimated that Apple would ship about 18 million iPhone X units in the January-March quarter in 2018 MacRumors reported late on Monday.
We revise down 1Q18 and 2Q18 shipments of iPhone X to 18 million units and 13 million units respectively lower than market consensus of 20-30 million and 15-20 million units " Kuo said.
"We expect iPhone X will go to end of life (EOL) around mid-2018 and that total life cycle shipments will be around 62 million units lower than our previous forecast of 80 million units " the analyst said.
"iPhone X would hurt product brand value and lineup of 2H18 new models if it continues to sell at a lower price after 2H18 new models launch " Kuo said.
"Additionally to sell iPhone X at a lower price may have a negative impact on shipments of the new 6.1-inch LCD iPhone in 2H18 " the analyst predicted.
Weaker-than-expected demand for iPhone X in China has led market analysts to revise down shipments for the first half of 2018.
According to Kuo iPhone X is not yet compatible with many popular Chinese apps leading many customers to see it as offering less usable screen space than 5.5-inch iPhone Plus models.
"This confusion coupled with the high price of iPhone X is thought to have undercut replacement demand " the report added.
Kuo however said the overall iPhone shipments will maintain year-on-year growth of 0-5 per cent over the first half of 2018.
--IANS
na/in
