Apple iPhone X Shipments Surpassed Expectations Despite Weak Sales Reports

Apple has announced that its iPhone smartphones actually surpassed expectations in spite of previous reports claiming the iPhone X underperformed and failed to meet sales expectations.

DigiTimes learned Monday that the Cupertino giant managed to ship 77.316 million iPhone devices in the fiscal 2018 first quarter that ended on Dec. 30, 2017. The figure shows that Apple’s smartphone sales were up 66 percent on quarter though down 1 percent on year.

Apple disclosed that its total iPhone sales amounted to $61.576 billion in the quarter, which means a 113 percent increase sequentially and a 13 percent increase on year. And though CEO Tim Cook did not specify the shipment volume for the 10th anniversary iPhone, he said, “iPhone X surpassed our expectations and has been our top-selling iPhone every week since it shipped in November.”

Just last week, industry sources claimed that Apple has decided to reduce the component orders for the iPhone X because the first OLED iPhone failed to meet sales expectations. Etnews even reported that Apple could be discontinuing the iPhone X because Apple has allegedly decided to stop ordering for more parts in the second half of 2018. Previous reports went as far as claiming that the iPhone X had disappointing sales in key markets such as the U.S., Europe and China.

However, Apple is countering the reports with its latest announcement. The company even shared that its iPhone X performed quite well in overseas markets. For instance, revenues from the Greater China grew by 11 percent on year in the fiscal first quarter. Sales in Japan saw a 26 percent increment, while those of other Asia Pacific countries increased by 17 percent.

According to The Verge, Apple may have sold fewer iPhones but the company still earned more money because of the more expensive pricing of the iPhone X models. Besides, the one that Apple is currently pushing to consumers is its most expensive iPhone offering yet.

Meanwhile, Apple has already reduced its OLED panel orders to Samsung Display because the iPhone X technically did not meet the company’s sales expectations. Component manufacturers speculate that the reduction could continue until the next quarter. This should not be surprising at all considering that the first and second quarters are usually regarded as slow seasons for Apple’s iPhones.

In January, DigiTimes research analyst Luke Din revealed that Apple has already decided to make changes to its 2018 iPhone lineup in relation to the not-so-good performance of the iPhone X. “Apple originally intended to push the two OLED iPhones and the 6.0– to 6.1–inch LCD iPhone, but has recently started leaning toward the combination of the two LCD models plus the 6.4– to 6.5–inch OLED iPhone,” Lin said.