KGI: iPhone X Production Woes Ending, but Only 2–3 Million Units Available for Launch

With just one week to go until pre-orders for the iPhone X begin, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released a new report indicating that the "worst [will] soon [be] over" with regards to production difficulties.

iphone x london 2
According to Kuo, the biggest hurdle has likely been the flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) for the device's antenna, due to increased complexity and initial supply chain partner Murata's inability to meet specifications.

Special materials, recipes, design, processes, equipments and tests are required for antenna FPCB, as the specifications for iPhone X antenna (supplied by Amphenol (US)) are higher than those of iPhone 8 and only Murata (JP) and Career Tech (6153 TT, NT$30.1, NR) can meet Apple's requirements. Murata (originally with a 60% order allocation or higher) won't be able to resolve its issues before 2Q18, and thus has been fully replaced by second supplier Career. We believe Career will ramp up in November, as capacity expansion takes time, and its materials, recipes, design, processes, equipments and tests are different from those of Murata.

A secondary bottleneck appears to have been the FPCB for the wide-angle rear camera lens. Unlike competing dual-lens camera smartphones from Samsung and Huawei, the iPhone X's wide-angle and telephoto lenses use separate PCBs, and supplier Interflex has reportedly struggled with quality issues on the part for the wide-angle lens.

The third bottleneck that has received signifcant attention in recent weeks is the TrueDepth camera's infrared dot projector, or the "Romeo" component. According to Kuo, previous design issues that led to poor facial recognition have been addressed and the "worst is behind us."

Overall, Kuo is cutting his iPhone X shipment estimates for the fourth quarter to 25–30 million units, down from 30–35 million, and he expects that 2–3 million units will be shipped into distribution channels ahead of the launch. As a result, initial supplies will be very tight, as has been extensively rumored. Kuo says shipments will "pick up markedly" in the first quarter of 2018.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple AI Command Center Concept Mock 3

Apple Expected to Launch This All-New Device Next Year

Wednesday November 27, 2024 1:05 pm PST by
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March. The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
Whatsapp Feature

WhatsApp to Drop Support for These iPhones Starting May 2025

Monday December 2, 2024 2:57 am PST by
WhatsApp is set to end support for iOS versions older than iOS 15.1 from May next year, removing the chat platform's compatibility with several iPhone models in the process. From May 5, 2025, WhatsApp will no longer be compatible with iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus models. Users with those devices won't be able to access the encrypted chat service after the specified date unless they ...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Wednesday November 27, 2024 5:05 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in early December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as...
iphone 16 pro models 1

12 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Friday November 29, 2024 5:17 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Expected Next Year: Here's What We Know

Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Flip iPhone Thumb 1

Apple's 2026 Foldable iPhone Could Reinvigorate Stalling Market

Monday December 2, 2024 4:04 pm PST by
The foldable smartphone market has stalled with customer interest in foldables waning, but that could change when Apple debuts a foldable iPhone, according to display analyst Ross Young. In a report on the current foldable smartphone market, Young says that Apple is expected to "enter the foldable market" in the second half of 2026. Apple's "dominant position in flagship smartphones" could...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Rectangle Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 8 New Features

Wednesday November 27, 2024 12:19 pm PST by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch for 10 more months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. An imaginative iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models so far: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro ...

Top Rated Comments

Jsameds Avatar
93 months ago
Same same same stories each year. Just marketing spin to drum up publicity and get you to pre-order. Pattern repeats
I suppose you think Apple are holding on to millions of phones and not shipping them to customers each year too?

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/09/09/iphone-7-pre-order-shipping-estimates-slipping/

https://www.macrumors.com/2015/09/12/iphone-6s-preorders-slipping/

https://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/12/iphone-6-shipping-estimates-slipping/

https://www.macrumors.com/2013/09/21/iphone-5s-shipping-estimates-slip-to-october/
[doublepost=1508483281][/doublepost]
"Ho ho ho" my ass ["design issues that led to poor facial recognition" attested by Craig Federighi]
He meant this. The iPhone X demo where Face ID fails for Craig Federighi.

Ho Ho HO! :D

Except it didn't fail, it performed exactly as it was supposed to.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lordofthereef Avatar
93 months ago
50+ countries with 3 million projected for launch. This should be great...
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Donahue Avatar
93 months ago
I am not hyped. I will not buy this phone.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MH01 Avatar
93 months ago
Same same same stories each year. Just marketing spin to drum up publicity and get you to pre-order. Pattern repeats

Edit : these stories get clicks - so ads - and side benefit is that Apple gets publicity
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
93 months ago
The video of Craig Federighi locked out of his own iPhone X speaks for itself.

Enjoy having it "perform exactly as it was supposed to." :D
He meant this. The iPhone X demo where Face ID fails for Craig Federighi.
That's the second time you have tried to spin this now. It's been iterated many times on here that the iPhone X locked Federighi out because others had used iPhone prior to him, which resulted into a back up password method. So It did it exactly as it was supposed to, but the demo itself did fail, Not Face ID.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SwissGuy93 Avatar
93 months ago
The video of Craig Federighi locked out of his own iPhone X speaks for itself.

Enjoy having it "perform exactly as it was supposed to." :D
Omg, just do your research and learn what happened. It would be like someone pressing the home button several times and engaging the bio lock out. It happens to me every week with the iPhone (I hold it in my palm and trigger the Touch ID), so don't act like it's a Face ID problem. The bio lock out is there for a reason and it worked like it was supposed to. End of discussion.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)