“A new report claiming to understand Apple’s supply chain has asserted that LG screens might be facing development issues as a second source for OLED displays on upcoming iPhones, based on Apple’s higher than normal scrutiny of LG prototypes — and then strangely claims this issue is driving iPhone X prices so high that ‘some’ are not buying it,” Daniel Eran Dilger writes for AppleInsider.
“The Wall Street Journal report, with a byline of Yoko Kubota in Beijing and Takashi Mochizuki in Tokyo, and additional credit for Tripp Mickle in San Francisco (who recently–bizarrely — claimed iPhone X was selling poorly based on a fundamental lack of understanding of the phone industry and Apple’s supply chain) described Apple’s efforts to develop a second source for OLED screens (apart from its current sole supplier Samsung) as both a ‘struggle’ and the reason why iPhone X carries a premium price,” Dilger writes. “[The report] also went out on a limb in stating that Samsung’s control of the OLED market was ‘one reason for the iPhone X’s steep $999 price tag, analysts said,’ before adding original conjecture that, ‘the price turned off some customers, causing demand to fall short of expectations and forcing Apple to cut orders for parts.'”
“That conclusion is based entirely on the media narrative that claims Apple expected to build 40 million more iPhone X units in the March quarter than it did, a wildly implausible idea that Japan’s Nikkei and the Wall Street Journal kept passing back and forth as the reason why iPhone X was selling ‘so poorly,’ even as the new model gobbled up over a third of all profits as the best selling smartphone model,” Dilger writes. “Both sites (and everyone copying their lede) also claimed that iPhone X’s high price was hurting sales, despite the fact that demand for the new model (and the also-expensive iPhone 8) dramatically pushed up Apple’s iPhone Average Selling Price. If a statically important number of buyers were against paying any premium for the new models, the ASP would obviously not have changed. That’s just how math works. ”
Read more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Talking down a stock prior to earnings is a longstanding tradition.
So what we have, basically, is a report claiming “iPhone production cuts” in the quarter following the Christmas shopping season from an outfit that’s made pretty much the same report annually for several years that is nonetheless and inexplicably treated as gospel. Other outlets pick up the story and run it until even some Apple analysts believe it and lower their estimates prior to earnings.
We won’t know for sure until we see this quarter’s (Apple’s fiscal Q218) results in May, since iPhone sales actually did increase YOY when you compare apples to apples, as opposed to comparing the 13-week 2017 holiday quarter to a 14-week 2016 holiday quarter and calling it a “decline,” when it wasn’t. — MacDailyNews, March 22, 2018
iPhone X was the best-selling smartphone in the world in the December quarter according to Canalys, and it has been our top selling phone every week since it launched. iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus rounded out the top three iPhones in the quarter. In fact, revenue for our newly launched iPhones was the highest of any lineup in our history, driving total Apple revenue above our guidance range… The iPhone X was the most popular and that’s particularly noteworthy given that we didn’t start shipping until early November, and we’re constrained for a while. The team did a great job of getting into supply demand balance there in December. But since the launch of iPhone X, it has been the most popular iPhone every week, every week sales. And that is even through today, actually through January… We feel fantastic, particularly as it pertains to iPhone X. — Apple CEO Tim Cook, February 1, 2018
SEE ALSO:
Apple struggles with effort to diversify display suppliers, can’t manage to cut dependence on rival Samsung’s screens – April 20, 2018
Goldman Sachs cuts Apple iPhone sales estimates – March 28, 2018
Nikkei again claims ‘weak demand’ for iPhone X despite much evidence to the contrary – February 20, 2018
iPhone X drives smartphone revenue dominance; Apple made more money in Q417 than the rest of the smartphone makers combined – February 16, 2018
Apple iPhone took more than half of worldwide smartphone revenue share in Q417, a new record – February 15, 2018
Will the naysayers admit they were wrong about Apple’s iPhone X? – February 5, 2018
Apple supplier says report of iPhone X production cuts was overstated – January 30, 2018
Another January, another misleading iPhone supply cuts story from Nikkei – January 29, 2018
Apple stock drops after Nikkei report of iPhone X production cut – January 29, 2018
Canalys: Apple shipped 29 million iPhone X units in Q4 2017; world’s best-selling smartphone over the holiday season – January 23, 2018
Reports of Apple cutting iPhone X orders make no sense – January 2, 2018
Apple stock tumbles on one poorly-sourced report of low iPhone X demand – December 26, 2017
Apple and suppliers shares drop on report of weak iPhone X demand – December 26, 2017
Nikkei: Apple to decrease iPhone production 10% in first quarter of 2017 – December 30, 2016
Nikkei proclaims ‘iPhone 7’ Dead On Arrival; bemoans Apple’s ‘lack of innovation’ – May 12, 2016
Japan’s Nikkei, The Wall Street Journal blow it, get iPhone demand story all wrong – January 16, 2013
Did Apple reduce 4-inch Retina display orders due to improving yields? – January 15, 2013
Analysts: iPhone 5 demand ‘robust;’ ignore the non-news noise – January 15, 2013
Apple iPhone suppliers decline on report orders cut by 50% – January 15, 2013
Apple swoon erases $17 billion from stock market – January 14, 2013
Apple iPhone 5 production cut signaling a new product release? – January 14, 2013
Apple drops to 11-month low on old reports of component cuts – January 14, 2013
The strange math of Apple’s alleged massive iPhone 5 component cuts – January 14, 2013
UBS analysts: Apple iPhone component order reduction ‘old news’ – January 14, 2013
Apple pulls down U.S. futures – January 14, 2013
Apple shares drop below $500 after reported cuts in iPhone 5 parts orders – January 14, 2013
So much frickin fake news from idiots who call themselves reports but don’t do their RESEARCH. These idiots should go hide up in the Himalayan mountains and write news for the yetis. These guys are abominable pun intended.
A lot of them also don’t know their away around technology and should just shut up about it and report about garbage pick up day 😆.
It is not simply stupidly and laziness, these so-called analysts are corrupt and working for hedge funds etc to manipulate aapl price, they get away in part due to the lies can’t be easily refuted
The worst part is that the stock tanks before earnings and then when earnings are announced if the “disappoint” it tanks again and if the earnings are really good the stock goes up maybe 1 % still below the initial value
With other stocks its the other way around stock surges before earning so even if earnings are bad and the stock takes a hit its still up over all.
Stock manipulation, pure and simple.
I sadly have to nominate this as the worst run-on sentence of the year, so far:
“The Wall Street Journal report, with a byline of Yoko Kubota in Beijing and Takashi Mochizuki in Tokyo, and additional credit for Tripp Mickle in San Francisco (who recently–bizarrely — claimed iPhone X was selling poorly based on a fundamental lack of understanding of the phone industry and Apple’s supply chain) described Apple’s efforts to develop a second source for OLED screens (apart from its current sole supplier Samsung) as both a ‘struggle’ and the reason why iPhone X carries a premium price,” Dilger writes.
Get well soon Dan!
Daniel Eran Dilger is an investigative journalist working to counter the cynical and false narrative about Apple — that they are overrated, that they are failing in every way, and that the only thing keeping them afloat is a large number of fans with more money than common sense.
I’ll forgive him for not paying a copy editor to improve his sentences since he is almost alone in opposing this bogus Apple media narrative. For the benefit of the naïve, a media narrative is a set of ideas seized upon by news and opinion writers as a strategy to improve readership, by appealing to well-understood cognitive biases. Mainstream print media have declined, but tabloids like the National Enquirer and the New York Post still make a lot of money through their genius for composing startling and salacious headlines, candy for ideologues of every stripe. Even “respectable” papers like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal can’t resist pulling this crap.
When the principles of journalism are sidelined in favour of more-profitable story-telling, readers — the presumed “educated electorate” — are swindled.
Excellent points!
Except I’ve known Dan since ~1996 when we were soldiers of the Mac Usenet newsgroups, fending off if not utterly obliterating anti-Apple trolls. Dan doesn’t write run-on sentences and never has. That one was exceptional by any measurement, worthy of William Faulkner on has worst day. Dan was, without a doubt, having a bad day. That’s why I added my get well soon wishes. 😉
Where’s Colin Gillis when you need some good B.S. hysteria? The analysts love this crap because their firms get transaction fees from fearful sellers and Johnny-Come-Lately buyers. (That’s my conspiracy theory for the day) 😉
Where’s that buffoon Zune Tang? Effing moron.