Apple's production of the iPhone X may slow to a trickle this quarter.
According to Fast Company, the California-based tech giant will make only 8 million iPhone X units in its second quarter of the year, in response to lukewarm sales for its $1,000 top-of-the-line phone. Apple may be trying to sell off the accumulated inventory of unsold iPhone Xs, Fast Company added.
In terms of phone units, 8 million units is a blip. Compare that to the 216.8 million iPhones Apple sold in its fiscal 2017 year, according to Statista, and the 54 million iPhones that analysts collectively believe Apple sold in the March quarter.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said in February that the "iPhone X surpassed our expectations and has been our top-selling iPhone every week since it shipped in November," but sales may have already peaked. In fact, smartphone sales have been soft across the entire phone industry, with suppliers -- including Samsung, which supplies the iPhone X's OLED screen -- warning of weakened demand.Â
But for Apple, the world's most profitable smartphone brand, and second-largest phonemaker, dipping sales numbers may send a message that customers as aren't as interested in thousand-dollar phones as Apple had hoped.
Apple didn't respond to a request for comment.