Apple (AAPL) investors needn’t have worried that the $999 price tag on the iPhone X might be a barrier to potential customers. Pre-orders for the latest generation of the world’s best-selling smartphone exceeded supply and Apple stores around the world welcomed enormous queues on the first official day of sales. In fact, it appears that Apple’s biggest problem is not low demand, but an inability to manufacture fast enough.
Investors clearly think this is a lesser problem and sent Apple’s shares to record highs on the day of the iPhone launch. This took the group’s market capitalisation over the $900bn mark for the first time. And it wasn’t just Apple that enjoyed the fruits of the iPhone’s success. Shares in global tech groups which supply the X, such as Broadcom, Skyworks and Sony, have also risen.
Apple is very secretive about which companies’ manufacturer parts of its smartphones but tech wizzes who have stripped apart the latest model revealed at least 12 different companies which contribute parts. This massive manufacturing task has been made harder by the fact that some of the X’s components – the 3D camera and edge-to-edge screen – are in short supply.
