Ternus says Apple can’t predict iPhone Duo supply relief

Apple ↘ 0.52% still cannot make enough iPhone Duos, and it does not know when it will. In an interview with Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ↘ 4.69% on Monday, November 2, after his first earnings report as CEO, John Ternus said "Duo is constrained as of today." He added that "the ramp is going well, and we're working hard to get it to as many customers as quickly as possible, but at this point, we're not able to predict when supply and demand will be in balance," Reuters reported.reuters.com

Apple's first foldable phone starts at $1,999. Online preorders sold out within hours, and buyers lined up at Apple stores last month. That makes supply the main question for the holiday quarter, the first that will include Duo sales.

Screen cracks and replacements

Ternus also addressed customer reports of cracked screens. He told Reuters that "a very small percentage" of iPhone Duo units had been returned for display problems and that Apple is replacing them. Apple has not said how many units are affected. It had previously told owners with cracked inner displays to contact AppleCare for a replacement. On the earnings call, COO Sabih Khan used similar language about supply, saying "it's really hard to predict when supply and demand will be in balance".uk.pcmag.com+2

Nearly three-month waits

Analyst data shows how big the backlog is. Data from UBS ↘ 2.03% as of October 30 put Duo delivery waits at 89 days, about a week shorter than before but still close to three months. UBS said the figures alone cannot show whether demand has cooled or supply has improved. JPMorgan ↘ 0.84% analyst Samik Chatterjee wrote last week that lead times were averaging three months, according to MarketWatch News Corp ↘ 0.03%. Apple's U.S. store still shows late-January delivery dates, where they have been since preorders opened October 16. A recent report said Foxconn Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. and component makers were told to raise 12-month production from 9.7 million to 14 million devices.mactrast.com+2

Record quarter without the Duo

The Duo went on sale October 23, after Apple's fiscal fourth quarter ended. Even so, Apple reported revenue of $114.48 billion and iPhone sales of $57.58 billion, both above estimates. Ternus warned of "even higher memory costs" in the December quarter, which he said would be "partly offset" by recent price increases. Ternus took over from Tim Cook in September. Before the results, IDC analyst Nabila Popal said the real test would be how quickly Apple could replace faulty devices while supplies stay tight.theverge.com+2