Apple’s share prices fell by 2% today in pre-market trading after a report said that Apple had told its supply chain that it would be requiring 20% less components in the second half of 2018. Last year it ordered 100 million units of iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, this year it only wants 80 million units of the newer models.
The reduction in orders is likely happening due to a slowdown in sales of smartphones right across the market. Back in February, for example, we reported that IDC saw a slowdown in smartphone sales in Q4 by 6.3% year-on-year. The drop affected Apple, Samsung, Huawei, and Oppo. The reason for the drop in sales is likely down to the fact that devices are very powerful now and last longer.
Aside from lowering shipment orders, you can see that Apple is cognizant that devices last longer by the fact that with iOS 12 they continued to support devices which supported iOS 11 - that includes phones all the way back to iPhone 5s which was released five years ago.
Last month, we reported that Apple would be releasing three iPhone models in 2019 with high-end OLED displays, this year the firm is planning to release two models with OLED displays and another with an LCD.
Let us know in the comments if you’re still happy with your older iPhone device or whether you upgrade regularly.