Oliver Haslam on November 19, 2018, 10:03 pm

Apple Curtails iPhone XS And XR Production, Here’s The Likely Reason As To Why

Around this time last year analysts and suppliers were claiming that the iPhone X was a flop because orders were being slashed. The iPhone X then went on to become the most popular phone on the planet, showing once again that reading tea leaves doesn’t always work.

That isn’t stopping the same thing from happening again though, with The Wall Street Journal reporting that Apple is cutting orders for both the iPhone XS and iPhone XR.

This comes after various reports claiming that Apple suppliers have cut their sales forecasts, with the suggestion being that Apple is finding it difficult to predict demand for its new lineup, consisting of iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max. Sluggish demand in China isn’t helping, according to the reports.

While Apple cutting orders is never a good sign, it will no doubt be safe in the knowledge that with an increasing average selling price, it will still be looking good as far as overall revenue is concerned. A reduction in volume may not be the end of the world for Apple, with growth in the market as a whole known to be slowing.

That’s no comfort for suppliers though, with one telling the Wall Street Journal that “Growth fixes a lot of sins. When it slows, rocks start to show up in the bottom of the ocean.” and “doing business with Apple is very risky as it often reverses what it has promised”.

If the reports are accurate, iPhone XR orders have been reduced by as much as a third with further cuts possible soon. With Apple recently announcing that it will no longer share device sales numbers during its quarterly earnings calls, we may never know example how many iPhones it sold from its 2018 lineup.

(Source: WSJ)