iPhone X Has Weak Demand In Q2, Apple Partners Reveal

Apple’s iPhone X beat expectations when it emerged as the most popular and best-selling smartphone in the first quarter. However, the status of the 10th anniversary iPhone is about to change when second quarter reports arrive.

Industry sources disclosed to Digitimes Thursday that demand for the iPhone X has weakened in the second quarter. Apple’s Taiwanese partners are already anticipating a plunge in their revenues and operating losses.

According to sources, Apple’s supply chain partner TPK — a Taiwan-based touch panel maker — is expected to see its revenues plunge by 20 percent in the April–June period. Sources also predict that the company would suffer operating losses because of its shrinking revenues.

The prediction is based on the iPhone X’s weak demand this quarter. TPK is apparently providing touch panels for the only OLED-based iPhone model available on the market at present.

On the other hand, Foxconn affiliate General Interface Solution (GIS) is expected to see a revenue increase this quarter. This is because GIS is supplying touch panels for LCD-based models iPhone 8 and iPhone 7 that are performing well since the first quarter.

Sources predict GIS could see a 20 percent sequential increase in its shipments to Apple this quarter. This could continue in the succeeding quarters because the LCD-based models are very likely to perform well even when the next-generation iPhone devices arrive in the second half.

The upcoming iPhones are believed to come with very expensive price tags because of their more advanced technologies and features. So consumers are more likely to partonize older iPhone models when the new ones arrive.

Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Apple’s partner chip maker, has posted a 21 percent decrease in its revenues for the second quarter. “Continued weak demand from our mobile sector will negatively impact our business,” TSMC CFO Lora Ho said while announcing the company’s sales guidance for the current quarter, as per Digitimes.