At the moment there seems to be a popular consensus in which many reports are claiming that the iPhone 8 could be severely constrained at the start, and that it might not even ship alongside the other iPhones. This has been attributed to production problems where the handset is reportedly considerably more difficult to manufacture compared to previous models.Now obviously a delayed iPhone means that in terms of revenue for the quarter will be impacted, but Bernstein analyst Tony Sacconaghi believes that it could have a bigger impact, which is that the delayed iPhone could cause existing customers to jump ship and purchase a different handset instead.
Speaking during CNBC’s “Fast Money” segment, Sacconaghi was quoted as saying, “If the phone is materially constrained once we hit the holiday season, post-October 15, then it’s worrisome. If [the iPhone 8 is] delayed and consumers feel they won’t get it until 2018, you run the risk that people will look to other devices.”
We suppose that is a possibility, but at the same time given the different ecosystems, it would actually be a rather expensive move for customers shifting from one platform to the other, as it means that they would need to purchase all their apps again. Whether or not Sacconaghi’s predictions will come true remains to be seen, but we expect details like the iPhone’s availability to be revealed this coming Tuesday at Apple’s event.