The news comes after it was reported that even Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, wasn’t excited for the release of the luxury smartphone.
“I’d rather wait and watch that one. I’m happy with my iPhone 8 — which is the same as the iPhone 7, which is the same as the iPhone 6, to me,” said Wozniak, according to CNBC.
Nevertheless, shipment dates for the iPhone X have already been pushed into December as a result of heavy consumer demand.
“We are encouraged that shipping lead times have held steady at five to six weeks, because these pre-orders can be recognized as shipments in the December quarter,” wrote Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White on Monday. “Apple is taking the iPhone franchise to a whole new level with the iPhone X, pushing the company deep into the ultra-luxury smartphone market.”
Shares in the company rose 2.1 percent on Monday, CNBC stated. They hit their first intraday record since early September.
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Substantial pre-orders often prolong shipping times, but analysts are saying that consumer demand for the new Apple smartphone is much higher than usual.
“We observed shipment times for the iPhone X tick up to five to six weeks within minutes of Apple opening pre-orders, where they have held over the weekend,” wrote Nomura analyst Jeffrey Kvaal in a client note. “This is ahead of the two to three weeks during the iPhone 7 Plus launch and the two to four weeks during the iPhone 6 and 6s launch.”
Apple is, of course, aware of the heightened pre-order demand, CNBC stated, adding that the company has directed its Taiwanese suppliers to double production capacity in anticipation of release, according to China’s Economic Daily News.
Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn, rose 1.7 percent in local trading, CNBC said. Hon Hai is an assembler and supplier of the Apple iPhone.
