Ming-Chi Kuo: improved iPhone X shipping times are not due to weak demand, but improvements in the supply chain

iPhone X shipping times saw improvements to one to two weeks across the board this week. This triggered speculation that weak demand for Apple’s latest flagship might have been the cause of these improved delivery dates.

Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities refutes this speculation, instead reporting that Apple has made significant supply chain improvements that are responsible for these accelerated shipping estimates.

It was previously claimed that the TrueDepth camera module was the primary culprit of production delays, while Kuo reported that issues were amplified by a shortage of liquid crystal polymer LTE antennas.

Kuo now reports that these production issues have been largely resolved, reporting diversified sourcing of LTE antennas along with improved yields of the dot projector component of the TrueDepth camera system. Specific numbers reveal that the LTE antenna production from new supplier Career are projected to expand by 100% in November and another 100% in December. Furthermore, dot projector yield has been improved to 80-90% compared to the below 60% yield in previous months.

Kuo reports that Foxconn production is now up to 450,000-550,000 units per day, a vast improvement over the 50,000-150,000 units per day production prior to launch.

Has your shipping time been improved? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: MacRumors