Analysts Consider Some Apple iPhone X Hardware Features ‘Outdated’

Apple introduced the 10th anniversary iPhone called iPhone X on Tuesday and put emphasis on the device’s new features like the edge-to-edge OLED display and its facial recognition technology. However, some analysts are not really sold on the inclusion of these hardware features, thinking that they would soon be considered outdated.

On Wednesday, Korean analysts expressed to South Korean media outlet The Investor their honest thoughts on the new iPhone X. It appears the analysts are not really pleased with what Apple has created because they pointed out how edge-to-edge OLED and facial recognition are already getting outdated. Apple’s biggest rival, Samsung, has been using OLED screens for its smartphones for the past six years. The company has also been creating handsets with edge-to-edge displays albeit having top and bottom bezels for years now. It’s also worth noting that Samsung was the first one to come up with a face-scanning solution.

IBK Investment and Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo even claimed in an investment report that the late Steve Jobs would not have been proud with what Tim Cook’s team has come up with to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the iPhone series. “Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed in his speech at the launch event that he believes Steve Jobs would be proud of what Apple has done, but I don’t think he would have felt that way with the new iPhones,” Lee wrote.

Apart from what they called as seemingly outdated hardware features, analysts were also not happy with the delayed release for the iPhone X. Kiwoom Securities analyst Seo Sang-young explained why the Nov. 3 shipment date of the flagship iPhone is a setback, saying, “The fact that the iPhone X will go on sale in November is a burden since loyal Apple customers may choose to wait until the premium model is out, instead [of] choosing the other two iPhone 8 variants.”

The sentiments of the analysts may have unfortunately reflected how investors felt when Apple introduced its 2017 iPhone lineup. Apple’s shares closed 0.4 percent lower at $160.86 on the day the Cupertino giant took the wraps off of the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. Despite this, there seems to be a silver lining for Apple since Business Insider learned that American analysts are predicting a super cycle for this year’s iPhones.

The super cycle theory suggests many loyal iPhone consumers could be upgrading this year because of the significant changes Apple brought to the new iPhone lineup. This huge wave of upgrade is expected to be bigger than what happened when the iPhone 6 was launched. Considering that the iPhone X flagship device comes with features not found in any other iPhone released to date, predicting this super cycle is not at all a stretch.

Apple’s fiscal year 2018 will commence in October, so it’s already established that the company won’t be seeing gains from the iPhone X for its current financial year. Nevertheless, the tech giant will inevitably see a huge demand for the 10th anniversary iPhone when it officially hits the market. Macquarie analysts noted, “[We] are not too concerned about a one- or two-quarter delay in supply as long as demand remains robust … [We] think that the new features and innovations will drive strong demand while allowing Apple to remain the preeminent smartphone brand on the planet.”