It has only been a few months since Apple took the wraps off of its premium iPhone called the iPhone X, but the company may already be planning to discontinue the handset.
The world's top Apple insider, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, predicted recently that the tech giant would stop selling the iPhone X entirely than bump it down its smartphone line for lower than $999 if the sales continue to be underwhelming. As Kuo detailed in a recent note, Apple figures that if the premium handset would be discounted, it would cannibalize sales of the brand-new devices.
"Lowering iPhone X's price after the 2H18 new models launch would be a negative to product brand value given 3D sensing and OLED display are features of the new high-price model," an excerpt from his note reads. "Additionally, to sell iPhone X at a lower price may have a negative impact on shipments of the new 6.1 LCD iPhone in 2H18. Thus, we estimate iPhone X will reach end-of-life (EOL) around the middle of 2018."
The most expensive unit in Apple's smartphone line, the iPhone X was released last November to mostly positive reception. The tech giant sold 29 million units of iPhone in the last quarter, with the iPhone X topping the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus as the most popular unit Apple sold during that period.
Citing a study from researcher Canalys, it says sales have been strong but not record-breaking. The iPhone X reportedly performed "slightly below industry expectations" and early shipments "were not the fastest ever for an iPhone." The exact figures have not been specified.
Apple is set to announce its earnings for the fiscal period including the fourth quarter of 2017 next week, although it remains to be seen whether it will break down the iPhone sales by unit.
If Kuo's prediction turns out accurate, it would be the first time in iPhone's history that a previous year's model was not made available at a discounted price point after the next-gen models' release.
