Apple planning to ramp iPhone XR production to 'over 50 percent' of new iPhones
Although much of its media hype has been focused on the iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple is reportedly planning to boost production of the iPhone XR past the 50 percent ratio by December.
XR production is ramping up to 20 million units in October, DigiTimes sources said on Wednesday. Preorders are only slated to start on Oct. 19, but Apple typically needs one or two months to build launch inventory.
In comparison, shipments of the XS Max are expected to hover around 4 to 5 million per month for some time, accounting for about 20 percent of overall production.
Even before its announcement, multiple reports hinted that Apple was planning to favor XR shipments. The device is $749, which while more than the iPhone 8 cost at launch is still considerably cheaper than the $999 XS and the $1,099 XS Max.
To achieve that price point the XR uses a single-lens camera, drops 3D Touch, and sports a 6.1-inch LCD instead of OLED. It does however share many features with the XS and XS Max, such as an A12 processor, an edge-to-edge screen, and a TrueDepth camera for Face ID. It even comes in colors unavailable to XS buyers, such as yellow and (Product)Red.
The DigiTimes sources suggested that the XR should "remain competitive" in China, despite being more expensive than other high-end phones in the country, as a result of being a dual-SIM device. Notably Chinese models will be "true" dual-SIM devices, while countries like the U.S. will wield an eSIM for secondary carriers.
XR production is ramping up to 20 million units in October, DigiTimes sources said on Wednesday. Preorders are only slated to start on Oct. 19, but Apple typically needs one or two months to build launch inventory.
In comparison, shipments of the XS Max are expected to hover around 4 to 5 million per month for some time, accounting for about 20 percent of overall production.
Even before its announcement, multiple reports hinted that Apple was planning to favor XR shipments. The device is $749, which while more than the iPhone 8 cost at launch is still considerably cheaper than the $999 XS and the $1,099 XS Max.
To achieve that price point the XR uses a single-lens camera, drops 3D Touch, and sports a 6.1-inch LCD instead of OLED. It does however share many features with the XS and XS Max, such as an A12 processor, an edge-to-edge screen, and a TrueDepth camera for Face ID. It even comes in colors unavailable to XS buyers, such as yellow and (Product)Red.
The DigiTimes sources suggested that the XR should "remain competitive" in China, despite being more expensive than other high-end phones in the country, as a result of being a dual-SIM device. Notably Chinese models will be "true" dual-SIM devices, while countries like the U.S. will wield an eSIM for secondary carriers.
Comments
And 3D Touch is simulated in the XR, so why is this a hangup?
P.S. they're never going smaller, so don't hold your breath.
Apple has a long history of making the cheaper version come in a variety of colors by the way.
I remember that I pretty much totally blew off those early rumors last year about the LCD version being the most popular, but it looks like it's going to be true!
Unless you're a techie, want to show off, or you're a die hard Apple fan (me), there's not much of a reason to go for one of the Xs's (unless, of course, your main priority is screen size). Xr has the best battery life, big screen, nearly identical performance and camera, relatively lighter, and comes in a bunch of colors.
In retrospect, I even feel a bit silly going for the Max, but (thankfully) I can afford it, I love the new gold color (usually not my style), and I want to finally (N.B. I'm using the word "finally" in keeping with proper Gruberian parlance) give in and give the Max/Plus phones a try.