PRESSURE BUILDS ON APPLE FOR X TO LIVE UP TO HYPE

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

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

Apple said Thursday that iPhone sales rose 3 percent in the JulySeptember quarter, a period that saw the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus come out in the final weeks. Sales could have been higher if many customers hadn’t been waiting for the iPhone X, which comes out Friday.

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

But it also brings a potential stumbling block. While conspiracy theorists might suspect Apple is artificially reducing supply to generate buzz, analysts say the real reason is that Apple’s suppliers so far haven’t been able to manufacture the iPhone X quickly enough.

Apple is counting on the iPhone X to drive even higher- than- usual sales during the first nine months of next year— a scenario that might not play out if production problems persist and impatient consumers turn instead to phones from Google or Samsung.

“What Apple needs to do is manage consumer expectations so they don’t get frustrated having to wait for so long for a new phone,” Ives said.— The Associated Press