Poor sales of iPhone have a significant negative effect on the company's partners Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),, their receipts falling to a good extent compared to the same period last year. According to an Asian publication, 19 of the major companies producing electronic components recorded total receipts 8% lower than in 2016.
Of the 19, 9 provide components for Apple and iPhone, so it is as clear as possible that the lower sales of phones generate problems for Apple's partners. The receipts recorded by these companies are the lowest in the last 2 years, a sign that iPhone sales would not be as high as even Apple would probably like.
The iPhone X is presented as the main culprit for this drop in sales, but a shorter February also seems to have had a negative effect on them. The more expensive components of the iPhone X helped Apple's partners to a certain extent to have good sales, but overall the phone is expected to register lower total sales than expected.
"Overall sales of the 19 tech companies monitored by the Nikkei Asian Review dropped 7.9% from a year ago to 703.91 billion New Taiwan dollars ($24.02 billion), the lowest level in two years. Sales at these companies are a gauge of global electronic demand."
That iPhone sales have problems is no longer something to be surprised about, but now we see how big the problem really is not only for Apple, but also for its partners. To be completely honest, I think that although it is possible that iPhone sales will be lower in Q1 2018 compared to Q1 2018, the receipts could be even higher, thanks to the higher price of the iPhone X.
