Apple's iPhone X might not be selling as well as expected.
Several analysts have cut their outlooks on iPhone X sales, citing lower-than-expected demand, Bloomberg reports. Sinolink Securities analyst Zhang Bin said on Monday that Apple could sell 35 million iPhone X units in the first quarter, a drop of 10 million from prior estimates.
Another firm, JL Warren Capital, said shipments would slump from an expected 30 million unit sales to 25 million. JL Warren Capital said it's witnessing lower-than-expected orders from suppliers, suggesting demand might be weak.
"Bad news here is that highly publicized and promoted [iPhone] X did not boost the global demand for iPhone X," JL Warren Capital wrote in a note to investors, according to Bloomberg.
MORE: 7 Reasons to Buy the iPhone X, and 4 Reasons to Skip
Even Apple itself is finding that demand might not be so strong and cut its forecast for first-quarter shipments from 50 million units to 30 million units, Bloomberg reported, citing a report from the Taiwanese Economic Daily News.
So, what's happening and why might iPhone X sales be sluggish?
Here are five possible reasons:
1. The Prices Might Be Too High
According to both Sinolink Securities and JL Warren Capital, Apple has a pricing problem. The analysts told their investors in a note that they believe Apple's iPhone X pricing is too high and is pushing customers away to other products. Some studies released earlier this year, however, suggest the iPhone X's price — which starts at $999 — didn't turn away early adopters.
2. Where Are the Innovations?
The analysts also said in their note that innovation is lacking in the iPhone X. While the phone might come with a new design and be the first Apple handset to deliver Face ID scanning, they wonder whether there's enough new and cutting-edge stuff in the handset to actually justify its price and attract customers.
MORE: 2017's Most Innovative Tech
3. Strong Competitors
According to Bloomberg, Apple is expected to face strong competitors in the early part of 2018. The investors said in a note that Samsung has come a long way in attracting more customers to its devices, creating more problems for Apple. Samsung is currently working on the Galaxy S9, with that phone likely to arrive as soon as February.
Additionally, in critical markets, like China and emerging countries, Apple is finding that competitors like Huawei, Oppo, and Xiaomi, are doing a good job of coaxing its customers to their side.
4. Some AR Wow
The analysts told their investors that Apple's push into augmented reality is a little half-baked. While the feature might deliver new technologies in the future, Apple's iPhone X is hobbled by a general lack of apps that can deliver the "wow" factor that augmented reality could and perhaps should deliver at some point in the future. Better AR apps, in other words, could attract more customers.
MORE: Best AR Apps for iOS (So Far)
5. iPhone 8 Might Be Good Enough
Although iPhone X sales might not be as strong as Apple and the analysts believed, the company might not be in trouble. Instead, the analysts believe that Apple's cheaper iPhones, including the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, are attracting a wide range of customers who still want an iPhone but don't want to pay the $1,000 or more for the iPhone X.
