Is the ‘super premium’ iPhone X cannibalising iPhone 8, 8 Plus?

Sales of iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are taking a hit as people are waiting instead to buy a “super premium” iPhone X.

Apple CEO Tim Cook announces the new iPhone X at the Steve Jobs Theater. (PTI)

As the sale of iPhone 8 and 8 Plus began in several countries on Friday, queues outside Apple Stores were shorter than previous years and the growing craze to own "super premium" iPhone X is likely to be the reason. Various Apple Stores across the world reportedly saw a thinner crowd, fewer than last year's iPhone 7 launch, tech website CNET reported on Saturday.

Most people seem to be holding out for the crown jewel of this year's iPhone series launched — the iPhone X, costliest of them all with a price starting at $999. Even on home turf, the Apple Store at San Francisco's Union Square did not perform well.

"A 38-year old tourist from Brazil, Thais Aguilar, was contemplating whether to get an iPhone 8 before she flies back home on Saturday. After a while, she decided to wait to buy an iPhone X back home and pay possibly three times as much as the $999 price in the US," the report added. Instead, Aguilar opted to buy Apple Watch Series 3. "Many other customers also seemed to prefer buying Apple Watches instead of iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, the report added. This confirms earlier reports that iPhone X will cannibalise iPhone 8 orders.

"While it takes three to six weeks or more to ship new iPhone models after they are available for pre-order, they see the iPhone 8 taking less than one to two weeks. This is due to the iPhone X cannibalisation," Ming-Chi Kuo, the most famous Apple analyst with KGI Securities said earlier this week. Ming, however, said the new Apple Watch Series 3's (GPS + Cellular version) could be a runaway hit.

"We estimate the pre-order weighting of the GPS + Cellular version is 80-90%. 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 had predicted.

iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus were made available from September 22 in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE, the UK and other countries. Apple would launch iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, starting ₹64,000, in India on September 29 while pre-bookings started on September 22. The iPhone X will come to India on November 3, starting at a price of ₹89,000.

Apple Watch is available in two different case sizes, 38mm and 42mm from September 29 in India. Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS) will be available in gold, silver and space grey aluminium cases with a Sport Band, starting at ₹29,900.

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