Apple May Cancel Production Of The iPhone X In The Summer

While there were people queuing for days to get their hands on the new iPhone X when it first came out - including this chap, who managed to pull off a spectacular fail - it turns out that sales of Apple's latest handheld communication device have been disappointing.

That's probably not surprising given the damn thing cost a grand and we're living in times of austerity, but Apple looked set to continue their track record of strong sales regardless.

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Now, however, it looks like the company might actually cancel the iPhone X this summer due to those disappointing numbers.

That's according to a report in the Daily Mail, which says that experts believe the notch is causing the lack of interest - many potential Chinese customers think it removes too much screen space.

The notch in question is the part of the phone that contains the 3D scanning sensors and cameras that power Face ID - not always with perfect results, we should add - which reduced the space at the top of the display.

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Apple KGI security analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said there's been surprising interest in the iPhone 6 and 7, likely due to the fact that they have more usable space.

Mr Kuo believes that instead of the iPhone X becoming a cheaper model, an iPhone X Plus model will debut instead, ultimately meaning the demise of its original incarnation.

While the numbers for the iPhone X sound high - US-based JL Warren Capital has predicted shipments of 25 million units - that's actually not very many for Apple. In the 2016 fiscal year the company sold a staggering 211.9 million phones. So maybe 25 million does seem a bit low when you take into account the size of China's market.

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Still, during a trip to China last month Apple CEO Tim Cook said he 'couldn't be happier' with the demand for the iPhone X in the country, but he probably would say that, otherwise share prices would fall and then the company would really be in trouble.

For now, we're expecting this latest news to result in another snarky ad from Apple's main rival Samsung. The last one was gold, so they better get their creative teams working to better it.

Topics: Phones and Gadgets, World News, iPhone x, Technology, Apple

Mischa Pearlmen

Mischa is a freelance journalist usually based in either New York or London. He has written for Kerrang!, Record Collector, NME, the New York Observer and FLOOD magazine, among others. Contact him at [email protected]