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Pre-ordering the iPhone X? Good luck with that

Dubai - Stocks sold out within 30 minutes - though you still have a chance here in the UAE

If you were one of the apparently many who snubbed the iPhone 8 in favour of the new - and, not to mention, more expensive - generation of Apple's flagship device, we would like to congratulate you... if you were early and vigilant enough to secure it.
Pre-orders for the iPhone X started on Friday, exactly a week before it is scheduled to hit store shelves. The UAE will be one of the 57 countries that will have first crack at it.
This comes as no surprise: it was expected that stocks of the iPhone X would not be as many as previous iPhones.
On Friday, multiple outlets have reported that the smartphone dried up within 30 minutes after pre-orders began.
Here's some good news for us in the UAE: as at posting time, there is still hope.
Apple's UAE website still has all models of the iPhone X available - it comes in 64GB and 256GB capacities in silver and space grey colours - though delivery would take five to six weeks.
At the UAE's telecom operators, only the 64GB iPhone X is left for pre-order at etisalat's website. Over at du, only the silver 256GB model, both for Personal and Business, is available.
Sharaf DG, early on Friday afternoon, had both silver versions available. However, later in the day, all models were in stock - though delivery would take four to five weeks. Jacky's Electronics has only the silver 256GB option left, while the 'Pre-Order' button on Jumbo's website has been greyed out, an apparent sign that stocks are sold out.
 
'A tiny number'
Though Apple has guaranteed that iPhone X units will be indeed available on launch day, they had a little friendly warning.
"Stores will have iPhone X available for walk-in customers, who are encouraged to arrive early," it said on Tuesday, meaning that you may have to camp out at stores.
The certainty of the device's availability is one thing; how much will be made available in stores is the bigger question.
If a report on TechRadar is any indication, it's possible a lot of those who would be lining up on launch day will come out empty-handed. It describes the "chronic lack" of units, and that the number that would be available globally after its rollout would be a "catastrophe".
"We know that some retailers and networks have only been assigned a tiny number of the handsets," a source at a popular phone retailer told the UK website.
"And maybe it'll be into January or February before there is enough stock to go round."
Ming Chi Kuo, considered the world's best Apple analyst and tipster, doubled down on that last statement: quoted by Forbes, he said in a recent report that production issues will be "significantly addressed" in the first three months of 2018, which will make shipments "pick up strongly".
This, combined with the upgrades on the iPhone's 2018 models - which Kuo describes as "more competitive" than this year's - will result in a "super cycle" of iPhone sales: Kuo says that next year would see sales between 245 million to 255 million. Annual sales of the device peaked in 2015 at 231.22 million, leaping from 169.22 in 2015 - the year of the iPhone 6S - then sliding to 211.88 million last year.
The iPhone X ran into several issues which have apparently contributed to the low number of stocks. Most notable was the inability of the tech giant to integrate Touch ID into the device's screen, which ultimately led it to being replaced altogether by Face ID - something that had sparked divided opinion.
November 3 is a week from now, and we'll find out soon enough how this all plays out.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com