The iPhone 7 is selling faster than the iPhone 8
By Nicolas Vega October 16, 2017 | 11:19am
This could be embarrassing.
In its first month on the market, the iPhone 8 is being
outsold by last year’s iPhone 7, according to a report on Monday.
Gadgetheads are reaching for the older Apple smartphone
because they see a “lack of significant enhancements” in the new model,
according to KeyBlanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh.
It is rare for the latest smartphone from the tech
whizzes in Cupertino, Calif., to be outsold by an older model, Vinh wrote in a
research report, whose data was culled from carrier store surveys.
The iPhone 8 has the fastest processor and best camera
ever put into an Apple smartphone, plus the added bonus of featuring wireless
charging for the first time.
However, the handset is very similar in appearance to the
iPhone 7, which sells for $150 less and can still hold its own against the
market’s current offerings.
Vinh also noted that carrier promotions for the iPhone 8
are much more modest than they were for the 7.
The reason for this can likely be attributed to the
impending release of the iPhone X, Apple’s self-proclaimed “future of the
smartphone.”
With its edge-to-edge OLED screen and new form-factor,
the X has generated a lot of the excitement that the iPhone 8 has missed out
on.
“Feedback from stores indicate customers are waiting to
purchase the iPhone X or to compare the iPhone X before buying the iPhone 8,”
Vinh wrote.
Because the iPhone 8 hit stores in late September and the
X won’t be released until Nov. 3, the 8’s sales have been caught in no man’s
land and the 7 has been able to pick up the slack, according to Vinh.
But don’t expect the iPhone 8’s slump to last forever.
According to a research note from GBH Insights’ Daniel
Ives, there is a potential base of 350 million iPhone owners looking to upgrade
in the next year — and 65 to 70 percent of them will get either an iPhone X, 8
or 8 Plus.
Apple shares were up 1.8 percent on Monday, closing at
$158.88.
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