The iPhone X is facing supply constraints in almost all the markets where the handset went on sale on November 3rd. The shipping estimates moved back to five to six weeks, although later they were improved in some parts of Europe.
South Korea"s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom revealed that its allocated iPhone X units were sold out three minutes after the pre-order began, compared to the iPhone 7 which took 20 minutes last year. Specifically, the silver iPhone X hardly took a minute before it went out of stock at the carrier.
The carrier told Yonhap News that the number of units available for the iPhone X was less than half of the iPhone 8 which went on sale earlier this month. The carrier didn"t reveal the number of units which were available ahead of pre-orders, but industry watchers estimate that almost 150,000 units went up for sale, which was lower than 200,000 iPhone 8 units launched a few weeks back.
Pre-orders of the iPhone 8 were about 60-70 percent of the demand which the iPhone 7 received last year. Analysts suggest that it"s mainly due to the launch of the iPhone X, and also the iPhone 8 Plus which outsold the iPhone 8 for the first time.
Despite the high price tag, it seems the iPhone X has seen high demand in South Korea where it costs way more than the United States. In South Korea, the 64GB iPhone X costs around $1237, which is quite a bit higher than the $999 asked in the United States.
Source: Yonhap News via GSMArena