iPhone X pre-orders might break the 50 million mark

Of the three new iPhones that Apple revealed on September 12, the most interesting model - the iPhone X - isn't available to buy yet, and won't be launched before early November. The completely new design of the iPhone X seems to be making many customers pass on the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus (both available to buy since September 22). Ultimately, this should be a good thing for Apple.

According to well connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, pre-orders for the iPhone X could reach over 50 million units, despite the handset's high prices - $999 for the 64 GB version, and $1,149 for the 256 GB one. This would set an impressive pre-order record for a single iPhone model, as well as for a single smartphone model regardless of maker and operating system.

Apple will start accepting pre-orders for the iPhone X on October 27, planning to release the near-bezel-less device on November 3. One of the highlight features of iPhone X will be Face ID - this completely replaces Touch ID as a secure means to unlock your handset, or authenticate and pay wirelessly.

Face ID will rely on what Apple calls a "TrueDepth camera" - a system including an infrared camera, flood illuminator (with invisible infrared light), and dot projector ("more than 30,000 invisible dots are projected onto your face to build your unique facial map", says Apple). Ming-Chi Kuo has it that Apple is finding it hard to mass produce this camera system, thus the iPhone X will likely be in short supply at launch, with production possibly catching up with demand only in early 2018.

Just how well will Apple manage to meet iPhone X demand? We'll just have to wait 'till November to find out.

source: Apple Insider