We have an abbreviated podcast for today, thanks to a shortage of news that we hadn’t already published on the website. Here’s what we’ve got for you:
- Be sure to check out Live Home 3D from BeLight Software, our sponsor for the past week.
- With one week to go until the start of iPhone X pre-orders, KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that component shortages will result in only about 2 to 3 million of the new phones being available at launch
- New beta versions of iOS 11.1 and watchOS 4.1 are available, with iOS 11.1 bringing hundreds of new emoji to the world once the final version ships
The text version of the podcast can be read below. To listen to the podcast here, click the play button on the player below. Apple News readers need to visit Apple World Today in order to listen to the podcast.
Text Version
This is Steve Sande for Apple World Today, and you’re listening to a brief AWT News Update podcast for Friday, October 20th, 2017. This week’s sponsor is BeLight Software, developers of Live Home 3D. If you’ve ever wanted to design your own home or create a virtual model of an existing home to see how improvements change its looks, then Live Home 3D is for you. The $29.99 app is powerful and easy to use, and you can get full information on Live Home 3D at this link.
One week from today, pre-orders begin for the iPhone X. Everybody’s favorite industry analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, said today that he believes that only 2 to 3 million units will be available at the launch of the device. Kuo has been all over the map with his predictions about how many devices will be in stores or shipped directly to users, saying about a week ago that he thought the number would be in the 435,000 range. 2 to 3 million is quite low for the launch of a new Apple phone — recent iPhones have sold well over 10 million units over the launch weekend. Why the small number of available phones? KGI says that several components are in short supply, including circuit boards for the iPhone X antenna and wide angle camera, as well as the infrared dot projector that is used to sense depth for Face ID. One of the suppliers, Murata, was expected to satisfy most of the printed circuit boards for the antenna but has failed to meet Apple’s stringent quality requirements. Another supplier is now manufacturing all of the antenna boards for the first couple of months of production. Kuo thinks that production of the components will scale quickly in November, and iPhone X output should catch up after the release.
Yay, fourth beta versions of iOS 11.1 and watchOS 4.1 have been released. What’s different? iOS 11.1 features the return of 3D Touch gestures that didn’t make it to 11.0 or any of the patch releases since then, and — most importantly — hundreds of new emoji! That freshly baked pie, the hedgehog, the dinosaur, and many other smilies like a zombie will all be available soon, and are now usable by those who install the beta. For watchOS 4.1, the big features are Apple Music and Radio streaming.
That’s all for today; I’ll be back Monday afternoon with another edition of the AWT News Update.
