"The iPhone X Is Dead" - Analyst Says As Fewer Consumers Are Buying The Flagship Device
Harsh.
By John Lim — 25 Apr 2018, 06:24 PM
A top analyst believes the iPhone X’s lifespan will soon come to an end, citing decline in sales and inventory issues as two contributing factors
The said analyst, Neil Campling, from international banking and finance group Mirabaud Securities, had some strong words for the flagship device – even going to the extend of calling it "dead"
"With the declines in iPhone X orders and the inventory issue at TSMC at record highs, which basically reflect a need to burn off inventory. Why? Because the iPhone X is dead," Campling said in an interview with CNBC.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, or TSMC, is one of Apple’s manufacturing partners. Recent reports revealed that TSMC is currently facing problems with the oversupply of chips, causing the company’s stock to go down 6.3% last Friday, 20 April.
Campling says consumers are shying away from the device because it is too expensive
"The simple problem with X is that it is too expensive. Consumers are turning their backs on high-priced smartphones,” Campling said in a phone interview with CNBC.
The iPhone X is the Cupertino giant's most expensive handset to date. It currently retails at RM5,149.
Campling could be right. The product only accounted for 16% of the company’s smartphone sales so far in 2018, according to profit estimates by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners
The share of all new iPhones sold in the first quarter of 2018 has slid to 60%, down from 78% in 2015, the report stated