Apple has reportedly announced price cuts for the iPhone XR in Japan in an attempt to improve the handset’s sale in the country. According to a report by WSJ, the iPhone-maker is offering subsidies to carriers in Japan and these price cuts are likely to be implemented next week.
Besides, the report further notes Apple has apparently resumed production of last year’s iPhone X. Now, this suggests that the company plans to sell older iPhone models in Japan. However, it shouldn’t come as a surprise as this won’t be the first time Apple will produce old iPhone models for markets which have sufficient demand for cheaper handsets.
One of the problems Apple is facing is the fact that older iPhone models still have massive popularity in countries like Japan, most probably because they’re much cheaper than the latest iPhone models.
However, the report also cites supply chain sources which claim that resuming iPhone X production is also because of Apple’s need to use OLED panels ordered from Samsung. These panels were actually planned for use in iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, however, lower than anticipated demand for new iPhone models has pushed Apple to use them on the older iPhone X.
This strategy would allow Apple to use the excess OLED screen components in a smartphone that became massively popular during its lifetime. Besides, offering it at a discounted price would allow Apple to mitigate losses suffered because of weak demand for new iPhone models. That said, it’s still not clear whether the iPhone X will go back on sale globally. As Apple no longer sells the 2017 iPhone X via its own stores.
Interestingly, the latest news comes shortly after a report earlier this week which claimed that Apple has slashed production orders for its latest iPhone XS and iPhone XR models, due to lower than anticipated demand.
