Apple probably never saw it coming in this manner. This year they released two models of smartphones: the iPhone 8 to succeed last year’s iPhone 7, and the high-end premium iPhone X which was intended to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the entire iPhone line. While both were introduced to the public simultaneously, the iPhone 8 was put on the market first, but then the problem began.
Many Apple users decided that the one-off iPhone x was a better unit and have skipped out on buying the 8 all together. It had gotten so bad that the company has been forced to reduce orders for the snubbed gadget, leading to some havoc in the stock market when investors noticed.
Stocks suffer
It cannot be denied anymore that the iPhone 8, already a solid smartphone in its own right (initial bugs aside), has suffered a lack of strong sales due to being overshadowed by the iPhone X. Despite being made available on the market last September, it is being skipped altogether by more consumers who would prefer to spend money on the $999 iPhone X, which Apple had pimped with premium features.
The fact that the X was a ‘special anniversary” device only added to the collector’s appeal of the unit.
The first significant warning for Apple that this trend could hurt them came when it was reported that the company had to reduce its shipping orders for the iPhone 8 by over 50%, due to the sheer number of units that remained unsold. This is in anticipation for when units of the iPhone X finally started rolling out to phone carriers and retailers. Due to concern from investors, shares of Apple abruptly dropped by 2% on closing time of Thursday, October 19, to about $155.98 each. This was an unwelcome development when prices originally were at an all-time high on account of the impending release of the iPhone X.
The unwanted iPhone
Analysts have begun chiming in on the degree of damage the impending release of the iPhone X has done on sales figures for the actual latest generational upgrade that is the iPhone 8. Joe Natale, CEO of Rogers Communications has noted that fellow wireless carriers have described consumer interest for the 8 to be rather “anemic.” The unintended low interest for the 8 phone and its Plus phablet variant has gotten to the point that the still-available iPhone 7 is actually outselling its successor.
All this hype for the iPhone X over the iPhone 8 could spell some trouble for Apple on the day the former is officially released. If the buyers turn out to outnumber the supply of X units for sale, the consumers could be upset in the same manner as Nintendo fans were when the NES Classic Edition retro console and the Switch kept selling out as demand outstripped supply.