Component Suppliers Brace for Lower Than Expected iPhone Orders in Q1 2018 [Report]

iPhone component suppliers are purportedly bracing for lower than expected orders from Apple for Q1 2018, according to a DigiTimes report.

Component orders for iPhone devices will come 15-30% less than expected for the first quarter due mostly to seasonal factors, but some sources argued that the slower-than-expected sales of iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have dragged down the momentum for the iPhone X.

It's said that order visibility for iPhone devices, particularly the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, began to show signs of slowing in Q4 2017, with sales slower than expected. To address the reduced demand, suppliers are reportedly planning to temporarily halt production in February as the low order visibility and week-long Lunar New Year holiday will drastically bring down capacity utilization rates.


Other upstream suppliers including those for memory chips, camera modules, 3D sensing modules, PCBs and IC backend service firms, have also been alerted to the need to control their inventory levels to cushion the possible impacts that might result from decreasing iPhone component orders, revealed the sources.

This isn't the first time we've seen reports claiming lower than expected sales volume. In December, a report said sales of the new iPhone X were not as strong as expected in the United States, Taiwan, Singapore and other markets. In early January, CLSA warned clients that the market is still too bullish on shares of AAPL based on lower fourth quarter expectations and 1Q18 numbers that are unlikely to improve. A week ago, Kantar reported that despite 'stellar' iPhone X performance in GB, China, and Japan, iOS market share dropped in the EU5, USA, and Japan.

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