iPhone X debut: Will slow supply dampen Apple's hopes in India?

iPhone X, which marks the 10th anniversary of the device, costs Rs 89,000 for a 64 GB model

After facing a lacklustre response to iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus globally, including in India, Apple has now placed its bet on successful delivery of "super premium" iPhone Xthat aims for a scheduled arrival on November 3.

In the past few days, several media reports have claimed that Apple is facing a huge supply gap primarily for two reasons: difficulties in assembling the new facial identification software and 3D camera, and "off the charts" pre-orders for iPhone X after the Apple fraternity didn't make the expected beeline for iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.

The scenario suggests that people will have to wait long before they can grab an iPhone X. Analysts have already warned that the stock on hand is scarce, owing to constrained supply of key iPhone X components. The advanced depth-sensing camera system in iPhone X requires parts that only a few manufacturers can produce.

The iPhone X, which marks the 10th anniversary of the device, costs Rs 89,000 for a 64 GB model and Rs 1.02 lakh for the 256 GB variant.

According to Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research, supply issues will have three main implications for Apple.

"Either the demand for iPhone X will shift to subsequent quarters or some part of the demand will be absorbed by iPhone 8 series if supply is delayed for long. In both the cases, it won't have much impact on Apple as its user base will remain within the iOS ecosystem," Pathak told IANS.

However, there is another scenario - where an Android premium user who wishes to shift to iPhone X decides instead to upgrade within the Android ecosystem due to unavailability of iPhone X. (more)

Apple releases iOS 11.0.2 update to fix crackling noise issue of iPhone 8

The update also addresses two other issues

Within a couple of weeks after the rollout of iOS 11, Apple has released its second update to address bugs which include a crackling noise coming from the earpiece of some iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus smartphones.

The latest update -- "iOS 11.0.2" was released over-the-air, that can be downloaded to all eligible devices from the Settings app, MacRumors reported late on Tuesday.

Also Read : Samsung bites into Apple in India: Galaxy Note8 sales beat iPhone 8

The bug was discovered following the release of iOS 11 after some users complained about a "very annoying" crackling or static noise coming from the earpiece during phone calls and FaceTime calls.

The update also addresses two other issues -- one that could cause some photos on the device to become hidden and the other was an email bug, the report added.

Apple iPhone 8 launched, buyers to get 70% of price when selling it back to Jio

Akash Ambani said the buyback offer would be available for customers of iPhone8 or iPhone 8 Plus

Reliance Jio has a big surprise for those interested in buying Apple iPhone 8 in India. Jio will buy back Apple Inc's latest iPhone models from its customers within a year for 70 percent of the retail price of the smartphone, the company announced on Friday.

Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani's son Akash Ambani said the buyback offer would be available for customers of iPhone8 or iPhone 8 Plus through Reliance Digital, Jio.com or the Jio Store.

Under this scheme, users will receive 70 percent of the purchase price of the devices upon using it with a Jio SIM card and returning it after a year. In other ways, this buyback scheme allows iPhone users to get 70 per cent of their money back when they upgrade to next iPhone.The buyback offer is valid for one year.

Also Read : Apple CEO Tim Cook 'joins' Akash Ambani at iPhone 8's India launch

This partnership between Apple and Jio brings two companies that have revolutionised their respective industries, because we both think customer first," said the Ambani scion.

Chairman of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani and Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook addressed people through video messages.

Cook spoke about the partnership with India's newest telco and the customisation that the latest devices from stables of Apple have for India.

"We’ve added new keyboards for India so we now support 11 local languages, and iPhone now takes dictation in Hindi. We’re excited to be building so many new relationships in India, including tens of thousands of developers across the country now writing apps for iOS," the CEO added. (more)

Apple iPhone 8 and 8 Plus India launch date hits grey market sellers hard

Apple has updated its marketing and sales strategy to make an impact in India

Apple's decision to start sales of its new iPhone 8 and 8 Plus smartphones in India just a week after their global launch may be welcome news for die-hard fans of the Cupertino-based tech giant's products but it has driven the cheer out of the country's grey markets, according to reports.

Apple will launch the new iPhones in India on September 29 with pre-booking starting from September 22. According to the Economic Times, this means that die-hard fans who would rush to grey market sellers in places like Mumbai’s Heera Panna market and Delhi’s Gaffar Market to get their hands on the latest iPhone, that too at a high premium, ahead of others who would wait for its official launch can now get their gadget of choice pretty much at the same time as the rest of the world sans the premium price. Consequently, these grey markets have hardly seen any pre-bookings this time, according to the financial daily.

ALSO READ: Will iPhone X hurt iPhone 8 and 8 Plus sale? Here's what experts say

According to the financial daily, the date from when pre-booking starts is the same date on when Apple will be launching the new smartphones in countries like Singapore, China, the UAE, which are the places from where grey sellers mostly sourced these handsets in the past. The financial daily added that in the past, these grey sellers would command a premium as high as 50 per cent, making people shell out more than Rs 1 lakh in some cases for an iPhone.

As reported earlier, Apple has updated its marketing and sales strategy to make an impact in India, the world’s third-largest mobile phone market after China and the US.

ALSO READ: iPhone X: Apple makes a $999 gamble on its aspirational brand

The iPhones shipment used to reach Indian shores after a huge time gap and the actual sales of devices used to start even later. This time, the new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will launch in India just a week after the US launch. The premium iPhone X will be rolled out in India along with the international rollout.

The new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will go on sale starting September 29 at 6 PM, unlike the previous iPhone launches that used to go on sale at midnight in India. Apart from online sales through e-commerce platforms, the new iPhones will be available for purchase through offline retail stores and the sale will commence at the same time through online and offline channels.

Will iPhone X hurt iPhone 8 and 8 Plus sale? Here's what experts say

Apple unveiled both iPhone X and iPhone 8 models, with the "super-premium" iPhone X starting at $999

As Apple gets ready to ship iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus before it opens iPhone X for pre-orders, a top analyst with Taiwanese business group KGI Securities has warned that iPhone X will cannibalise iPhone 8 orders.

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the most famous analyst with KGI Securities when it comes to Apple, it is very likely that iPhone X demand will cannibalise iPhone 8 pre-orders.

"While it takes three to six weeks or more to ship new iPhone models after they are available for preorder, they see the iPhone 8 taking less than one to two weeks. This is due to the iPhone X cannibalisation," StreetInsider.com quoted the analyst as saying late on Monday.

Apple unveiled both iPhone X and iPhone 8 models, with the "super-premium" iPhone X starting at $999.

Ming, however, said the new Apple Watch Series 3's (GPS + Cellular version) could be a runaway hit.

"We estimate the preorder weighting of the GPS + Cellular version is 80-90 per cent. While not available in all countries, most users have pre-ordered the GPS + Cellular version because it offers phone and internet access functions without an iPhone and given the low premium of $70 over the GPS version," the analyst predicted.

According to the Verge, while Apple Watch shipments are well below iPhone shipments, investors should start keeping tabs on this new product, with shipments expected to surge much higher than previous generation models.

Apple would launch iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, starting Rs 64,000, in India on September 29 while pre-bookings will start on September 22.

The iPhone X will come to India on November 3, starting Rs 89,000. (more)

Apple iPhone X to cost Rs 89,000 in India: Know all about the new iPhones

With The anniversary-edition iPhone X takes a step forward in what could be the future of iPhone devices

In arguably the biggest event of the year in the world of technology, Apple Inc on September 12 unveiled the anniversary-edition iPhone X -- the roman X signifying the 10 years of Apple iPhones -- and two other iPhone iterations, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, among other devices.

While the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are designed on the blueprints of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the iPhone X, with its innovative face recognition technology and other features, takes a leap towards what is now seen as the future of iPhone devices.

Let’s take a look at the features and specifications of the new iPhones:

Apple iPhone X

With a glossy stainless steel frame body covered on the front and back by a glass design, the iPhone X has a rather wide 5.8-inch Super Retina OLED display. The glassy back is accentuated by a vertically placed 12-megapixel dual camera set-up, which supports optical image stabilisation (OIS). On the front, a new 7-megapixel TrueDepth camera enables auto image stabilisation and precise exposure control, and brings the portrait mode to the front camera for stunning selfies with a depth-of-field (Bokeh) effect.

Also Read : Vivo Y69: 16 MP camera will give you even more reasons to click selfies

The iPhone X dual camera set-up boasts a ƒ/1.8 aperture on the wide-angle camera and an improved ƒ/2.4 aperture on the telephoto camera for better photos and videos. A new quad LED True Tone Flash offers twice the uniformity of light and includes Slow Sync, which brings more uniformly lit backgrounds and foregrounds.

The cameras on the iPhone X are custom-tuned for the augmented reality (AR) experience. Each camera is individually calibrated with new gyroscopes and accelerometers for accurate motion tracking.

The camera also delivers the highest quality video capture ever in a smartphone, with better video stabilisation, 4K video up to 60fps and 1080p slo-mo up to 240fps. The Apple-designed video encoder provides real-time image and motion analysis for optimal quality video.

With iOS 11, iPhone X supports HEIF and HEVC for up to two times the compression and storage for twice as many photos and videos. (more)