Rumor claims Apple cutting iPhone 8 production orders in half

Apple is allegedly slashing its production orders for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus by roughly 50 percent for November and December, which if true could be the earliest such cut in the iPhone's history.

The claim was made by supply chain official cited by Taiwan's Economic Daily News. Reuters later noted that the rumor may have triggered a 1.5 percent drop in Apple's stock price in pre-market trading.

Such a severe production cut less than two months into the iPhone 8 cycle is unlikely, given Apple's typically conservative production planning, but not impossible. Launch demand for the iPhone 8 may not have been weak, but also saw much shorter lineups at some stores. U.S. online orders are currently shipping between Oct. 25 and Nov. 2, depending on the model — a far cry from the delays some past iPhone rollouts have seen.

Speculation has commonly held that people are waiting for the iPhone X, which will ship Nov. 3 after a preorder period starting Oct. 27. While costing at least $999, the device has an edge-to-edge, 5.8-inch OLED screen, as well as Face ID, a technology that could prove more convenient than Touch ID so long as it works as promised.

Multiple reports have pointed to production bottlenecks created by the iPhone X's TrueDepth camera, sharply constraining output. Shortages could last through early 2018, though reports differ on the matter.

95 Comments

GeorgeBMac 11421 comments · 8 Years

About 7 years ago

For myself, advising a friend, part of the trouble is the "Memory gap": Where it jumps from 64Gb @ $700 to 256Gb @ $850.

The 64Gb is too small for her.
The 256Gb is too expensive for her.

So, she keeps using the iPhone 5 I gave her when her iPhone 6 was stolen.

SpamSandwich 32917 comments · 19 Years

This BS rumor has the stock down 3% as of this post. Insanely stupid rumor, insanely stupid market reaction.

airnerd 688 comments · 13 Years

I could see this as happening. This is purely anecdotal but I don't know a single person with an iPhone 8. Everyone either is sticking with their current iPhone or wanting to wait to see what the X actually has going for it. No one seems to care about wireless charging. Everyone that wasn't a die hard Apple ecosystem person went to Android if wireless charging was a big deal. If they wanted it and are part of the Apple Ecosystem then they are wanting the better phone so waiting for X. Doesn't leave a lot of demand for the 8.

Just my opinion and not hating on Apple.

1983 1225 comments · 12 Years

A bit ironic that as my 8 Plus arrived today. I’m not potentially waiting another 3 or 4 months for an X.

Soli 9981 comments · 9 Years

GeorgeBMac said:

For myself, advising a friend, part of the trouble is the "Memory gap": Where it jumps from 64Gb @ $700 to 256Gb @ $850.

The 64Gb is too small for her.
The 256Gb is too expensive for her.

So, she keeps using the iPhone 5 I gave her when her iPhone 6 was stolen.

1) She bought an iPhone 6 so we can assume that if she didn't get hers stolen and you give her a hand-me-down she's be using it for 3 years, going on 4 now. Rounding down to 3 years that's only $50 per year to get the capacity that she needs to support her excessive data use, which I assume is a bunch of music she can't possibly listen to.

2) So instead of Apple's previous solution of $100 for doubling the capacity they double it twice for twice the cost, which comes out to being a substantially lower cost at only 78¢ per GB, whereas she's willing to pay double that at $1.56 per GB. And that's before we consider that Apple could've kept the entry-level at 32GB and made 128GB an upper tier which would've cost her even more had NAND prices not been where they are for this release, which shows that it's a psychological issue, not a financial one.

3) Considering points 1 and 2 that means in 3 years time she's only spending $50 more what she's willing to pay, which is under $17 a year, or $1.38 per month. Is that really worth sticking with an iPhone that's over 5 year old? Personally, that sounds like a ridiculous line in the sand to draw.