Apple is likely to discontinue the iPhone X in the second half of this year, according to one analyst.
As Mirabaud analyst Neil Campling said in a note, “With the declines in iPhone X orders and the inventory issue at [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co] TSMC at record highs which basically reflect a need to burn off inventory. Why? Because the iPhone X is dead.”
CNBC reports that TSMC is the largest contract chipmaker in the world and Apple’s main supplier. Apple makes up nearly 20 percent of all TSMC’s revenue. TSMC is anticipating low annual earnings, as expert analysts have explained, which means the current demand for iPhones is low.
According to Campling, there is a concerning oversupply of chips that “has never been higher,” and these chips don’t come at a small price.
“The chipmaker’s current situation could give investors concerns over AMS, Apple’s key supplier of 3D sensing technology in the iPhone X. The 3D sensors are key for the Face ID feature that lets you unlock the device by looking at it,” says CNBC.
It’s the expensive technology, used for the unique new features of the iPhone X, that makes for its unusually high price, which hasn’t gone over as well with consumers as Apple initially anticipated.
Experts like Campling say the tech company may cut production in April and May and is expected to discontinue the phone completely in the second half of the year.
Other experts, however, disagree, saying Apple is not likely to completely stop iPhone X production. As Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst of Moor Insights and Strategy, told CNBC.
“The word ‘killed’ doesn’t make any sense at all. The iPhone X was Apple’s most expensive phone and the company sold, in units, more than any of its other phones, so I’d say it’s a success. Apple will update the iPhone X, but won’t kill it. The suppliers impacted have likely been replaced by another supplier so their numbers are going down.”
But most people agree that consumers should expect Apple to come out with some new, cheaper (around $500–$600) iPhone models that may have space for two SIM cards soon.