A brand new report claims that Apple has instructed its component suppliers to make around 20 percent fewer parts for iPhones in the second half of the year. Sources familiar believe the plan is for the upcoming iPhone range, which will include the iPhone X successor, the iPhone X Plus and the iPhone 9.
Apple’s Shares Are Down 2.2 Percent, Affecting Its Suppliers as a Result of This News – Company Expects 20 Million Fewer New iPhone 2018 Models to Be Sold This Year
Based on two industry sources, Nikkei via Reuters stated that Apple is expecting 80 million of the upcoming iPhones to be shipped this year and while those are a lot of shipments, that is 20 million less than the shipments planned last year during the same time period. One of Apple’s key suppliers warned about a slowdown in sales in April and sure enough, this made investors panic and the market capitalization of Apple dropped by $60 billion in just two days.
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Analysts have also predicted a decline in smartphone sales as markets like China have slowed down and consumers are less willing to upgrade their smartphones because they either offer non-compelling upgrades or their current device is performing to their expectations. Investors were already spooked about the ‘lower than expected sales’ of the iPhone X in the first quarter of 2018. However, their doubts were quickly removed as iPhone X sales picked up and it sold more than any other smartphone during that period.
You should also note that supply chains aren’t necessarily accurate always. Tim Cook has previously said that isolated supply chain news is not reliable as the supply chain of the company is complex and an outsider cannot interpret it properly.
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Apple usually launches its new iPhone lineup during the second half of the year. The latest news sent Apple’s stock down 2.2 percent to a value $189.20. Additionally, Apple’s suppliers were also affected by this, with the shares of Dialog falling 4.1 percent while those of AMS falling by 6 percent.
As per reports, Apple is planning to release three new iPhone models in 2018, with the announcement expected to he held during the company’s annual keynotes. As for the latest news, Apple has not made any comments so we’ll be updating you guys on the latest.
Source: Reuters
