Apple has also restarted production of the last year’s iPhone X, reportedly to meet a minimum purchase agreement with Samsung, which makes the iPhone X’s OLED displays.
The supposed rationale for resuming iPhone X production is that it’s cheaper to make than the iPhone XS and XS Max and therefore a more cost-effective way to fulfill the required volume.
Apple stopped selling the iPhone X as soon as it released the iPhone XS on September 21, and released the cheaper iPhone XR one month later.
It was reported that phone component makers Qorvo, Lumentum and Japan Display had cut quarterly profit estimates because a large, unnamed customer had reduced existing orders.
The company also announced that as of the December quarter it would no longer report unit sales of the iPhone, iPad and Mac because the figures weren’t representative of its business performance and didn’t account for the spread of prices in each product line.
In the case of the iPhone, prices range between $449 and $1,449. Apple also insisted that sales of top-end iPhones were “very strong” in the September quarter.
Apple’s fourth quarter iPhone sales of 46 million units were flat year over year, but iPhone revenues jumped 29 percent.
It’s not clear where it would sell the iPhone X if it brings it back. As MacRumors notes, Apple has previously reintroduced discontinued models in select regional markets.