Excited fans may not be able to get the iPhone X until 2018 as difficulties in making the smartphone may make shopping for Apple's latest flagship impossible until next year.
KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo, a respected Apple analyst, said that the Cupertino-based tech giant may suffer from "severe short supply for a while." This means that even those who pre-order the device may have to wait long delivery times before they get their hands on Apple's 10th-anniversary iPhone.
Apple pushed back the release date of the iPhone X to encourage people to buy the iPhone 8, which is easier to avail since it has none of the fancy features of the iPhone X such as facial recognition and an all-glass exterior — not to mention a new display that takes up more than 90 percent of the phone's front.
The later release date means the iPhone 8 will still have its time in the spotlight and at the same time, Apple can address supply problems for the iPhone X.
However, Kuo also said that because of this delay, Apple will only ship 40 million iPhone X units in the first half of 2018, instead of the earlier projection of 45 million to 50 million.
"We think some will be concerned about market acceptance of Face ID and the pricing of the iPhone X, before robust pre-order result is confirmed," Kuo said in a note to investors, according to Fox News.
The fact that the iPhone 8 is still in stock ahead of its Sept. 22 launch shows that Apple's strategy may not be working as well as they thought it would. Comparatively, during its launch in September 2016, the iPhone 7 Plus was already sold out until November of the same year.
This may be because users are torn between the more familiar iPhone 8 and the fancy iPhone X and those who are more inclined towards the latter are waiting for consumer reviews before placing their orders.
Pre-orders for the iPhone X will begin on Friday, Oct. 27.
