Will the iPhone X be discontinued in 2018?

January 26, 2018

[Photo by: Apple]

Apple's iPhone X was just released in November, but now, certain technology analysts are predicting that the latest iPhone model's lifespan may not extend past this year. Will a new iPhone XI supplant the X by the end of 2018?

The tech giant announced the iPhone X, along with the 8 and 8 Plus, back in September, releasing the smartphones shortly thereafter. While new iPhone X attributes like the “all-screen” display, Face ID and Animojis possibly enticed users of the iPhone 7 and older models to trade up, derided design flaws like the “notch” (lol, The Outline) left some Apple fans ill at ease. As reported by Teen Vogue, the iPhone X's time may already be up: Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities predicts the X will be discontinued by fall.

Kuo says that Apple would rather nix the first-generation iPhone X, rolling out a new, second-generation model, instead of lowering the price of the X later in 2018. Why? Because, apparently, a simple price drop would probably undermine the sales of another forthcoming new model, a mid-range iPhone (one which will reportedly still have Face ID and a LCD display) that the analyst expects to launch midway through the year.

“Lowering iPhone X's price after the 2H18 new models launch would be a negative to product brand value given 3D sensing and OLED display are features of the new high-price model,” Kuo states in a research note uncovered by MacRumors. “Additionally, to sell iPhone X at a lower price may have a negative impact on shipments of the new, 6.1-inch LCD iPhone in 2H18. Thus, we estimate iPhone X will reach end-of-life (EOL) around the middle of 2018.”

iPhone X's rumored 2018 replacement, the iPhone XI (or iPhone X Plus?), has already been mocked up by iDrop News—see the artist depiction below. The XI will supposedly be made of the same glass body and edge-to-edge display of the X, but with thinner bezels and an updated frame. In addition, a new “360-degree TrueDepth sensing” could be featured along with a dual camera setup that's once again flush with the back of the phone (unlike the camera “bump” of the X, of which Apple seemed oblivious to its obtuseness).

Engadget plays down talk of iPhone X's rumored demise, while still noting that slow sales of Apple's newer smartphones are driving the company to “think different” on its next line of models. Either way, it looks like there might be some big changes for the iPhone lineup by year's end.