News this morning is that Apple ($AAPL) may “cancel” the iPhone X after disappointing sales. Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, who is often right when it comes to Apple, pointed to disappointing sales in China of the flagship Apple smartphone as evidence that the company could cut its losses on the device.
A research note seen by AppleInsider revealed that Kuo believes that because of the iPhone X’s "notch" at the top of the screen, Chinese consumers - who consume more video on their devices than just about anywhere in the world - have been turning to other devices like the iPhone 8 Plus for more screen real estate. Where your mobile video platforms is basically replacing your home TV, it’s understandable that consumers would judge a device on its screen-size alone.
Despite what Kuo says about the iPhone X in China, however, sales in the US remain steady and, in most cases, on the up.
We pulled sales ranking data for the X from our databases for US retailer BestBuy ($BBY), and as you can see, the iPhone X continues to track pretty well, even seeing a slight increase in sales-ranking in the new year.
Why should you care about Best Buy’s iPhone X sales rankings? According to a recent CIRP survey, Apple Stores only sell around 10% of all iPhones. Outside of carriers themselves, Best Buy sells more iPhones than anyone else.
Clearly, China marks a massive market for smartphones, so it’s completely possible that Kuo is right here. It could also mean that Apple will redesign the device without a visible notch in the screen.
It could also mean nothing: that the iPhone X is selling perfectly fine for a $1,000 smartphone, and that Apple meant for it to be what they said it was: a one-off anniversary edition.
Either way, it’s selling just fine here.