Following my exclusive earlier this week, I can confirm exactly what the iPhone 8 looks like. But when will you be able to buy Apple’s AAPL -0.45% biggest redesign yet and at what cost? This is where the bad news starts…
The ever reliable 9to5Mac has obtained a new report from J.P. Morgan which states the iPhone 8 will be both significantly more expensive than any previous iPhone and it will also be available in more limited quantities at launch.
iDrop News
iPhone 8 design with enlarged display based on the latest leaks. Image credit: iDrop News
JP. Morgan analyst Rod Hall explains that it expects “a small amount of late September EMS output… then ramping up production through October with target output levels achieved in late October/early November.”
The impact? Hall expects Apple to ship 7.3M fewer iPhones than its previous estimate of 49.5M for Q4. Given this figure includes all three new iPhones and the iPhone 8 is expected to account for approximately 50% of that its a unit reduction of almost 30%. Hall says this hit almost all comes in September as its drops iPhone 8 stock from 9M units to circa 2M.
So while supply of new iPhones is always tight after launch, getting hold of an iPhone 8 this year is likely to bring a whole new level of hurt.
And next comes the pricing.
Nodus and Gordon Kelly
Apple’s new iPhone 8 will looks like this
Hall says Apple will start iPhone 8 pricing from $1,100 as “production costs are slightly higher than we had originally anticipated”. This would be $450 more than an entry level iPhone 7 ($649) and $330 more than an entry level iPhone 7 Plus ($769).
Painful? Be grateful for small mercies. Some reports claim iPhone 8 pricing could be as high as $1,400. Though if there are three storage options as normal, that might not be far out. Meanwhile prices on eBay are likely to be 2-5x higher.
Nodus and Gordon Kelly
iPhone 8 has a new dual vertically aligned camera to aid AR
Still with rumours growing that Apple has been unable to integrate Touch ID into the iPhone 8’s display (smart alternatives do exist), some might argue the company is biting off more than it can chew. But this is where Samsung looks set to do Apple a solid as it has definitely failed to integrate a fingerprint sensor into the Galaxy Note 8 and is also charging the earth.
Could Google’s gorgeous Pixel 2 XL may swoop in to woo unsettled Apple and Samsung fans? I doubt it, Google has no track record of being able to deliver units in quantity. As such – while J.P. Morgan’s news may be disappointing – I suspect come the end of 2017 Apple and the iPhone 8 will still have cleaned up…
[“Source-forbes”]
