iPhone X Cannibalising iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus Pre-Orders: KGI's Kuo

iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus pre-orders opened in the US on Friday, and now KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports anticipation for the upcoming iPhone X has cooled interest in the phones.

"While it takes three to six weeks or more to ship new iPhone models after they are available for preorder, they see the iPhone 8 taking less than one to two weeks. This is due to the iPhone X cannibalisation," streetinsider.com quoted the analyst as saying late on Monday. In the US, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will start shipping from September 22 - the same day pre-orders open for these smartphones in India, where shipping starts on September 29 instead.

Kuo however, said the new Apple Watch Series 3's (GPS + Cellular version) could be a runaway hit. "We estimate the preorder weighting of the GPS + Cellular version is 80-90 percent. While not available in all countries, most users have pre-ordered the GPS + Cellular version because it offers phone and internet access functions without an iPhone and given the low premium of $70 (roughly Rs. 4,500) over the GPS version," the analyst predicted.

The iPhone 8 price in India for the 64GB variant is Rs. 64,000, while the 256GB model costs Rs. 77,000. Similarly, the iPhone 8 Plus price in India has been set as Rs. 73,000 for the base 64GB storage variant, while the model with 256GB storage is Rs. 86,000.

The iPhone X will come to India on November 3, with pre-orders starting October 27 - the same dates as the US. The 64GB variant is priced at Rs. 89,000, while the 256GB variant is priced at Rs. 1,02,000.

The new Apple Watch is available in two different case sizes, 38mm and 42mm from September 29 in India. Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS) will be available in Gold, Silver and Space Gray Aluminium cases with a Sport Band, starting at Rs. 29,900.