IPhone X testing buyers’ patience

The iPhone X’s lush screen, facial recognition skills and $ 1,000 price tag are breaking new ground in Apple Inc.’ s marquee product line.

Now, the much- anticipated device is testing the patience of consumers and investors as demand outstrips suppliers’ capacity.

The Cupertino, Calif., company said Thursday that iPhone sales rose 3% in the July- through- September quarter. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus came out in the f inal weeks of that period. Sales could have been higher if many customers hadn’t been waiting for the iPhone X, which comes out Friday.

Apple shipped 46.7 million iPhones during the period, according to its f iscal fourth- quarter report released Thursday. That’s up from 45.5 million at the same time last year after the iPhone 7 came out, but a step back from the same time in 2015, when Apple shipped 48 million iPhones.

As with recent quarters, one of the main sources of Apple’s growth is coming from its services, which are anchored by an app store that feeds the iPhone and other devices.

Revenue in that division surged 34% to $ 8.5 billion during the quarter. All told, Apple earned $ 10.7 billion on revenue of $ 52.6 billion, up from a $ 9- billion profit on revenue of $ 46.9 billion a year earlier. Apple shares rose 3% in after- hours trading. Nonetheless, the just- ended quarter largely became an afterthought once Apple decided to release the iPhone X six weeks after the iPhone 8.

“The Super Bowl for Apple is the iPhone X,” GBH analyst Daniel Ives said. “That is the potential game changer.”

But analysts say Apple’s suppliers haven’t been able to manufacture the iPhone X quickly enough.