Yield rates for iPhone X components improving
Cage Chao, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 17 October 2017]
Yield rates for certain iPhone X components have improved and become more stable, and shipments of the smartphone are set to grow substantially after October, according to sources from Apple's supply chain.
The first batch of iPhone X devices has already been shipped out from Foxconn Electronics' site in Zhengzhou (Henan, China), said the sources. With production yield rates for certain key components such as 3D sensing modules improving, shipments of the device have increased gradually and will meet Apple's demand ahead of the Christmas and New Year's holidays, the sources indicated.
Chip deliveries for the iPhone X have been on schedule up to now, according to sources at analog IC vendors, which claimed they started to fulfill their orders for the device as scheduled in the third quarter. They were not aware of any production delays or shipment cutbacks as alleged in media reports, accordig to the sources.
On the whole, chip orders for new iPhone devices will grow through the fourth quarter of 2017, and will begin to slow down in the first quarter of the following year, the sources continued.
Nevertheless, the late availability of the iPhone X may not follow the same pattern if pre-orders for the device exceed expectations, other industry sources have remarked. There is still uncertainty about actual demand for the new Apple product, according to the sources.
As the schedule for the iPhone X deliveries is more than one month later than that for the iPhone 8/8 Plus, the former's shipments are unlikely to satisfy all demand until the first quarter of 2018, the sources noted.
According to Apple, it will begin to take pre-sale orders for iPhone X on October 27 and start delivering the devices on November 3.