by admin | May 25, 2021 | Branding, Business, Markets, SMEs
San Francisco : Apple enthusiasts could get an all-screen iPhone for a fraction of the cost, with a new notch-equipped 2018 iPhone starting as low as $600, according to a famous analyst associated with Taiwanese business group KGI Securities.
Ming-Chi Kuo said in a recent research note that pricing for Apple’s upcoming iPhones could start at $600.
“Kuo believes that Apple may release three iPhones in fall 2018 — a relatively affordable 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, a new 5.8-inch OLED flagship (perhaps the iPhone X2) and a 6.5-inch OLED “iPhone Plus” model,” CNET reported on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the 6.5-inch successor to the super-premium iPhone X with an OLED screen could still cost higher.
The device is likely to cost between $900 and $1,000, Kuo forecast.
The analyst believed that the iPhone maker would announce and release all three 2018 iPhones in September.
Last year, Apple announced the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in September. However, the units did not hit shelves until October and November.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Branding, Business, Large Enterprise, Markets, Technology
Singapore : Apple shipped 29 million iPhone X units in the fourth quarter of 2017, Singapore-based market research firm Canalys has said, adding that this has made iPhone X the world’s best-shipping smartphone model over the holiday season.
“Another notable highlight for the iPhone X is that of the 29 million shipped, seven million were in China,” Canalys said late on Tuesday.
“The iPhone X performance is impressive for a device priced at $999, but it is slightly below industry expectations,” said Ben Stanton, analyst at Canalys.
“Apple struggled with supply issues in early November (2017), but achieved a massive uplift in production in late November and throughout December. This helped it meet and even exceed demand in some markets by the end of the quarter,” he added.
One major benefit to Apple is that customers are increasingly realising the residual value of their old smartphones, opting for trade-in programmes to offset the high price of the iPhone X.
“But that big price tag, and Apple’s split launch strategy, still had an impact, and shipments were not the fastest ever for an iPhone,” Stanton added.
Earlier this week, Ming-Chi Kuo, the most famous analyst with KGI Securities when it comes to Apple, said the Cupertino-based giant may discontinue the first-generation iPhone X sometime in mid-2018 as the second-generation model is set for launch later this year.
Kuo has estimated that Apple would ship about 18 million iPhone X units in the January-March quarter in 2018.
According to Canalys, Apple’s iPhone SE, 6s, 7 and 8 models also shipped well in Q4.
The older handsets are still popular with iPhone users looking for value for money.
“Apple is looking at its best performance to date, all thanks to the massive changes it made to its portfolio in Q3,” said Canalys analyst TuanAnh Nguyen.
While new technologies, such as Face ID and bezel-less displays, help to justify the $999 price tag and maintain competitiveness with Samsung, Huawei and Google, “having a larger portfolio allows Apple to meet its overall shipment targets, and protect its market leadership in the premium segment”, Nguyen added.
According to Kuo, “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”.
“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 claimed.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Large Enterprise
New Delhi : With less than 24 hours left for the arrival of Apple’s “super Premium” iPhone X in India amid heavy pre-booking, Apple premium resellers on Thursday were yet to receive the stocks to begin delivering the Rs 89,000 device (starting price for 64GB variant) to those who pre-booked it.
Apple India, however, said that the company normally delivers new iPhone units either on the previous night or on the same day of the arrival.
“We are launching the much-awaited iPhone X tomorrow. Every company works in its own way. We try and avoid sending units in advance. So, if the launch is tomorrow, the iPhone X units will arrive tomorrow or later tonight,” a senior Apple executive told IANS.
Some of the authorised Apple resellers in the Delhi-NCR region told IANS that they have not yet been notified about the availability of the devices that have been advertised as arriving in India on November 3.
“You will be informed tomorrow only about the availability of iPhone X. We have not got the devices so far,” a representative from Imagine Store, an Apple Premium Reseller in Gurugram, told IANS.
“We cannot assure if you will get the device tomorrow. Those who had pre-booked the iPhone X are requested to wait for our call. It completely depends on the availability,” he added.
Even supply chain solution provider Redington India and HCL Infosystems that sell newly-launched iPhones on their partner stores were yet to send any information on iPhone X.
When contacted, a representative from iWorld from Kamla Nagar said they did not have any iPhone X stock yet.
“Our store hasn’t got any iPhone X yet. I will be able to tell you the details only tomorrow. As far as timings are concerned, last year, the sale of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus started in the evening. We are expecting the iPhone X sales will commence in the evening this year as well,” he told IANS.
An iNvent Apple premium reseller in North Delhi had earlier told IANS they were yet to receive iPhone X stocks.
“We have not received a single unit of iPhone X so far. We do not know if they have been already shipped or not. The devices are expected to reach us the day it goes on sale or maybe a day before. For iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, we had received the stock earlier,” said a sales representative from iNvent.
In the past few days, several media reports have claimed that Apple is facing a huge supply gap primarily for two reasons: difficulties in assembling the new facial identification software and 3D camera, and “off the charts” pre-orders for iPhone X after the Apple fraternity didn’t make the expected beeline for iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
Analysts have already warned that the stock on hand is scarce, owing to constrained supply of key iPhone X components. The advanced depth-sensing camera system in iPhone X requires parts that only a few manufacturers can produce.
The iPhone X, which marks the 10th anniversary of the device, costs Rs 89,000 for a 64GB model and Rs 1.02 lakh for the 256GB variant.
Meanwhile, iPhone X has got a frenzied response on e-commerce site Amazon.in. The device went on pre-order on the site on October 27 and was out of stock within a few minutes.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Large Enterprise, Markets, Technology
By Nishant Arora,
New Delhi : After facing a lacklustre response to iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus globally, including in India, Apple has now placed its bet on successful delivery of “super premium” iPhone X that aims for a scheduled arrival on November 3.
In the past few days, several media reports have claimed that Apple is facing a huge supply gap primarily for two reasons: difficulties in assembling the new facial identification software and 3D camera, and “off the charts” pre-orders for iPhone X after the Apple fraternity didn’t make the expected beeline for iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
The scenario suggests that people will have to wait long before they can grab an iPhone X. Analysts have already warned that the stock on hand is scarce, owing to constrained supply of key iPhone X components. The advanced depth-sensing camera system in iPhone X requires parts that only a few manufacturers can produce.
The iPhone X, which marks the 10th anniversary of the device, costs Rs 89,000 for a 64 GB model and Rs 1.02 lakh for the 256 GB variant.
According to Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research, supply issues will have three main implications for Apple.
“Either the demand for iPhone X will shift to subsequent quarters or some part of the demand will be absorbed by iPhone 8 series if supply is delayed for long. In both the cases, it won’t have much impact on Apple as its user base will remain within the iOS ecosystem,” Pathak told IANS.
However, there is another scenario – where an Android premium user who wishes to shift to iPhone X decides instead to upgrade within the Android ecosystem due to unavailability of iPhone X.
“In that case, it will be an opportunity lost for Apple. However, in India where the super-premium segment (above Rs 50,000) is just 1.2 per cent of the market and with small user base, we don’t think it will have a major impact on Apple in terms of volumes,” Pathak said.
iPhone X brings a different design and an almost full-OLED (edge to edge) screen display.
“Many users who are on iPhone 6 and 7 for the past two-three years are eagerly waiting to upgrade to the entirely new 10th anniversary iPhone, which should help bring good demand for this new device,” Navkendar Singh, Senior Research Manager at IDC India, told IANS.
Earlier, smartphone users in India cited lack of innovation and high prices for holding their decision to buy iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Apple made iPhone 8 obsolete in a matter of minutes by announcing iPhone X with advanced features, they said.
“iPhone X will certainly help drive good volumes for Apple, more so after a very tepid and weak demand for iPhone 8 series,” Singh noted.
Apple has announced international warranty for iPhones bought from outside India.
“A large number of users will try to get their hands on the device from countries with lower pricing. Having said that, the only dampner for the demand can be supply issues that Apple is facing,” Singh added.
Ming-Chi Kuo, famed Apple analyst with KGI Securities, said earlier this week that it’s likely Apple “won’t repeat” the supply and production struggles it experienced with iPhone X with the new 2018 models.
“Shipments of the 2018 iPhone models will arrive on time and in stable supply during the late Q3 of 2018,” Kuo said.
Retailers in India who have seen huge iPhone X pre-orders are keeping their fingers crossed for the stocks to arrive before November 3, and also keep the stocks coming on to meet soaring demand.
“Considering that Apple enjoys a huge aspirational value and premium positioning, iPhone X will do well in the Indian market. The high price will not deter consumers from paying huge premium for Apple products,” Singh told IANS.
People normally upgrade iPhones in September/October but owing to the launch of iPhone 8 and iPhone X at the same time, they waited for X this time instead of upgrading to iPhone 8.
“The buyback offer from Reliance Jio will also help customers purchase iPhone X. Given the supply chain issue Apple is facing, Indian customers expect to face issues related to availability in the initial few weeks,” Satish Meena, senior Forecast Analyst, Forrester Research, told IANS.
(Nishant Arora can be contacted at nishant.a@ians.in)
—IANS
