Significant Delays in iPhone Duo Deliveries Reported
A plethora of customers have voiced their concerns over substantial postponements in the delivery schedules for their devices, now extending to January 2027.
This predicament arises despite having pre-selected specific colors and storage capacities on the Apple website to streamline the purchasing process.
The delay is pervasive, encompassing all color and storage variants, ranging from 256 GB to a staggering 2 TB.
At Apple retail outlets, every available slot for device collection on the launch day was consumed rapidly once pre-orders commenced at 8:00 AM on October 16th in New York, USA.
In stark contrast to the launch of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max in September, procuring the iPhone Duo has proven to be considerably more challenging.
Nonetheless, as reported by Bloomberg, Apple customarily reserves a fraction of units for direct retail purchases, suggesting that the customary sight of patrons forming queues to purchase new iPhones during product unveilings may persist.
The iPhone Duo represents one of the inaugural major products launched under CEO John Ternus, who assumed leadership of the tech giant in September.
Distinctive Design and Pricing of the iPhone Duo
Boasting a book-like folding architecture, the iPhone Duo’s dimensions resemble those of a passport when opened.
Its base model starts at $1,999 in the United States, marking an approximate 50% increase over the iPhone 18 Pro Max, thereby positioning it within the same price bracket as a MacBook Pro.
Consumers eyeing the higher-capacity configurations will encounter price tags of $2,599 for the 1TB variant and $3,199 for the 2TB version, cementing the iPhone Duo as the priciest iPhone in the annals of its history.
The swift sellout of the iPhone Duo shortly after the pre-orders commenced, however, underscores the product’s allure, indicating that initial supply may have been insufficient to satiate demand.
Consequently, customers may grapple with challenges in locating this innovative foldable device on its launch day, October 23rd, and in subsequent weeks.
Investigating Production Challenges
Reports from Nikkei Asia indicate that Apple is encountering obstacles in the production of foldable iPhones, attributable in part to rigorous quality and durability standards.
“Apple enforces exceptionally high quality benchmarks and initiated a trial run in August before moving to mass production.
Yet, output remains sluggish, limited to a mere few hundred units daily by the end of August. At this rate, initial supply is likely to fall short of market demand,” a supply chain executive conversant with the matter disclosed to Nikkei Asia.
Production Goals Amidst Supply Chain Constraints
Apple’s objective encompasses the production of 8 to 10 million foldable iPhones this year, anticipating that the innovative design will invigorate the product line and bolster revenue.
However, achieving this aspiration without hastening production appears improbable, necessitating longer wait times for customers than they had foreseen.
Experts contend that foldable iPhone manufacturing would need to escalate to tens of thousands of units daily to meet these expectations.
Previously, Apple reportedly faced several technical hindrances during the design and testing of its foldable devices.
The company mandates significantly more stringent quality and durability standards than its competitors, which include testing under more extreme conditions, augmenting the number of folds tolerated, and insisting on a flatter screen.
“Improvements in screen flatness and hinge functionality are enhancements that Apple requires to optimize production efficiency,” a source acquainted with the proceedings indicated.
Two informed sources have revealed that Apple undertook an additional testing phase in August to ensure the foldable iPhone could transition to mass production in accordance with design specifications. This decision has resulted in several weeks of delays in commercial production.
Smartphone Industry Facing Supply Pressures
As articulated by Nikkei Asia, the global smartphone sector confronts mounting pressure from shortages in memory and other electronic components, driven by companies hastening the development of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
According to IDC’s latest projections, global smartphone shipments could plummet by 16.7% this year, while memory deficiencies are anticipated to propel the average selling price of devices upward by about 27.6%.
Apple’s Resilience Amid Market Adjustments
Apple has been significantly less impacted than its value-sensitive Chinese counterparts such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, which have been compelled to substantially revise their forecasts due to constraints on memory and electronic components.
According to IDC, Apple’s share of the global smartphone market reached 20.2% in the second quarter, rising from 16.3% during the same timeframe last year.
This outcome illustrates the advantage conferred by its formidable negotiating power with suppliers and its premium product assortment.
To enhance the allocation of memory and marketing resources, Apple is concentrating on the three high-end iPhone models for this year.
Concurrently, the launch of the standard iPhone model has been deferred until next spring, according to previous revelations by Nikkei Asia.
Analysts from Bloomberg Intelligence, Anurag Rana and Josh Christensen, posit that sales of the iPhone Duo in fiscal year 2027 could eclipse previous projections of 14 million units, translating into approximately $28 billion in revenue.
If Apple can persuade iPhone Pro and Pro Max users to transition to foldable devices, it will have an opportunity to substantially elevate the average selling price of its iPhone lineup.
Nevertheless, initial shortages alone do not ensure the iPhone Duo’s success. Sales of this model currently constitute a mere fraction of the more than 250 million iPhones Apple anticipates shipping this year.
Yet, the challenge of converting this initial enthusiasm into enduring sales stands as a vital barometer for Apple’s strategy to penetrate the premium market segment and its growth aspirations moving forward.
Source link: Vietnam.vn.
