Apple scaling back iPhone 7 production as early demand fades - report
Apple is cutting down on iPhone 7 orders from suppliers as the initial wave of consumer demand subsides, a report claimed on Thursday.
Demand in China and other markets has scaled back substantially since the iPhone 7 launched in September, Taiwanese supply chain sources told DigiTimes. Initial sales were said to have been hot partly due to interest in Jet Black models, and the death of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, which attracted shoppers looking for an alternative.
Suppliers are allegedly being conservative about their iPhone 7 shipment forecasts for the first half of 2017, expecting 5 million fewer units than the second half of 2016.
Apple typically slows down iPhone orders as a new year approaches, since the highest shopper demand is generally during its September launch window and the subsequent holiday rush. It's not clear then to what extent Apple might be scaling back, especially since results from the first full quarter of iPhone 7 sales won't be announced until January.
In the meantime suppliers are already said to be turning their attention to 2017 iPhone models, which could have features like glass backs and edge-to-edge displays, with one model making the switch to OLED.
Demand in China and other markets has scaled back substantially since the iPhone 7 launched in September, Taiwanese supply chain sources told DigiTimes. Initial sales were said to have been hot partly due to interest in Jet Black models, and the death of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, which attracted shoppers looking for an alternative.
Suppliers are allegedly being conservative about their iPhone 7 shipment forecasts for the first half of 2017, expecting 5 million fewer units than the second half of 2016.
Apple typically slows down iPhone orders as a new year approaches, since the highest shopper demand is generally during its September launch window and the subsequent holiday rush. It's not clear then to what extent Apple might be scaling back, especially since results from the first full quarter of iPhone 7 sales won't be announced until January.
In the meantime suppliers are already said to be turning their attention to 2017 iPhone models, which could have features like glass backs and edge-to-edge displays, with one model making the switch to OLED.
Comments
I reckon if the phone started at €649 instead of €779 it'd be an awful lot more popular for new phone buyers here.
I believe this will help apple better distribute their own products and cut all the crap with carriers taking advantage of its users.
"News" has become the new way to shape narratives. Traditionally news is what people need or want to know. But modern news has taken on a new form. Articles/headlines are published stating a talking point, and then repeated and repeated and repeated, in an effort to create a certain collective perspective amongst its readership. And it works quite well, on massive scales. Not against all people though. I like to believe that the guys at AI don't do maliciously, they've just learned to do it from the larger pubs.
But might I add, it must be difficult to sell an iPhone 7 if about two weeks after you release it Apple begins releasing the manufactured news rumors about the potential iPhone 8.
Bring on the 8.
If we define "design" more broadly than physical appearance (which I think we should), then the iPhone 7 has a lot going for it. The SOC is far and away the best on the market. The storage speed is phenomenal. The camera is very good -- whether it's the best depends on what you care about. Waterproofing is a good feature.
The biggest problem with the design is the omission of the 3.5 mm jack. I think that's really the crux of the bad sales. If AirPods had been released a year before the iPhone 7, and if they worked well and people loved them, then removing the 3.5 mm jack would have seemed like obviously the right thing to do. Instead, they remove the jack, promise these great new wireless earphones, but then delay them indefinitely. There were surveys showing interest in the AirPods running much higher than interest in the Apple Watch.
So my theory is that sales are weak because of the audio situation.
I went 3G -> 5 -> 6S, unless my 6S starts to feel slow or lacking in features compared to the next one, I can see me waiting for an 8S(9). Saying that, both mine and my wife's 6S's are due a recall shortly to fix the die-randomly battery problem so if the "fix" doesn't work I can maybe see an upgrade sooner rather than later.