CEO of Canada's Rogers sees 'anemic' demand for Apple's iPhone 8

The CEO of Canadian communications giant Rogers said that the company is so far seeing "anemic" demand for Apple's iPhone 8, potentially adding to the evidence that global sales are soft.

"What we're seeing is sort of...anemic appetite for the iPhone 8," CEO Joe Natale remarked during a Thursday earnings call, according to Reuters. The executive suggested that customers are interested in the iPhone X, which has an edge-to-edge OLED display and Face ID, and ships Nov. 3. Preorders start a week earlier.

Natale cautioned that the cost of the device and potential supply problems are risks for Rogers's outlook.

"The iPhone X price point is about 75 percent higher than the iPhone 7. So it's a very expensive device," he said. "Inventory is a question mark in terms of what we will get."

Some like KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo have sounded an optimistic note about iPhone 8 sales, but launch-day lineups were in some cases much shorter than usual for a new iPhone, and Apple's U.S. online store is showing relatively short delays. Earlier on Thursday, a report claimed that Apple is cutting iPhone 8 production in half for November and December. If true that would suggest that Apple overestimated demand.

Worries about the iPhone 8 have driven Apple's stock price down over 2 percent in Thursday trading. The iPhone X will likely draw investors back, but Apple may need to ramp up production as fast as possible to keep up confidence.

71 Comments

SpamSandwich 32917 comments · 19 Years

About 7 years ago

This should indicate that demand for the X is huge, not that sales are slow. :|

unphocus 81 comments · 7 Years

Does anemic equates less than expected in case of his statement? Or it means too low and Apple is doomed? Regardless, someone will spin that to say that iPhone 8 is bad, not good enough, etc. blah, blah, blah...

canukstorm 2740 comments · 11 Years

SpamSandwich said:

This should indicate that demand for the X is huge, not that sales are slow. :|

Not too long to go till we find out.

mknelson 1146 comments · 9 Years

SpamSandwich said:

This should indicate that demand for the X is huge, not that sales are slow. :|

That and (independent reseller) we've seen a lot of outright purchases rather than 2 year contract activations.

It usually goes like this:

"I can get this phone for $1149 outright or $630 up front on a 2 year contract for at least $85 per month but my current plan is only $55/month"

Math ensues

"Oh, I'm $200 better off if I keep my plan and buy the phone outright"

irnchriz 1595 comments · 17 Years

I would like sales to fall flat, proving that Apple his hit a price point where a lot of existing customers just say, “nope, I think I won’t bother upgrading”.

That said, I will pick up an X to try out the new features but I’m not sure about keeping it as it’s the same narrow display at the non plus models.