Yield rates for the important iPhone X components are finally beginning to improve, according to Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes.
Citing sources at analog IC vendors, the publication says that iPhone X shipments are set to grow substantially after October. With production yield rates for certain key components such as 3D sensing modules improving, shipments of the device have increased gradually and will meet Apple’s demand ahead of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the sources indicated.
Here’s an excerpt from the report:
Chip deliveries for iPhone X have been on schedule up to now, according to sources at analog IC vendors, which claimed they started to fulfill their orders for the device as scheduled in the third quarter. They were not aware of any production delays or shipment cutbacks as alleged in media reports, accordig to the sources.
A measure of production efficiency, the yield rate is the number of units coming out of a process divided by the number of units going into that process over a specified period of time.
Component makers have been struggling for weeks to perfect 3D sensors and dot projectors for the handset’s TrueDepth camera that powered Face ID and other features.
No one has been able to pinpoint the problem exactly though poor yields for the crucial TrueDepth camera sensors appear to have been holding back mass production of the handset.
Rosenblatt analysts recently said that iPhone X production is now at 400,000 units per week.
Chinese-language Commercial Times reported this morning that contract manufacturer Foxconn has shipped its first batch of 46,500 iPhone X units from the Zhengzhou and Shanghai facilities to the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates.
An earlier report suggested that Apple’s suppliers had recently solved a significant bottleneck in volume production of the TrueDepth camera sensor.
Preorders for iPhone X start on October 27 ahead of the scheduled November 3 launch.