SEVEN BEATIN’ EIGHT

Prior iPhone $hines

This could be embarrassing.

In its first month on the market, the iPhone 8 is being outsold by last year’s iPhone 7, according to a report on Monday.

Gadgetheads are reaching for the older Apple smartphone because they see a “lack of significant enhancements” in the new model, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh.

It is rare for the latest smartphone from the tech whizzes in Cupertino, Calif., to be outsold by an older model, Vinh wrote in a research report, whose data culled from carrier surveys.

The iPhone 8 has the fastest processor and best camera ever put into an Apple smartphone, plus the added bonus of featuring wireless charging for the first time.

However, the handset is very similar in appearance to the iPhone 7, which sells for $150 less and can still hold its own against the market’s current offerings.

Vinh also noted that carrier promotions for the iPhone 8 are much more modest than they were for the 7. was store

The reason for this can likely be attributed to the impending release of the iPhone X, Apple’s self-proclaimed “future of the smartphone.”

With its edge-to-edge OLED screen and new formfactor, the X has generated a lot of the excitement that the iPhone 8 has missed out on. “Feedback from stores indicate customers are waiting to purchase the iPhone X or to compare the iPhone X before buying the iPhone 8,” Vinh wrote.

Because the iPhone 8 hit stores in late September and the X won’t be released until Nov. 3, the 8’s sales have been caught in no man’s land and the 7 has been able to pick up the slack, according to Vinh.

But don’t expect the iPhone 8’s slump to last forever.

According to a research note from GBH Insights’ Daniel Ives, there is a potential base of 350 million iPhone owners looking to upgrade in the next year — and 65 to 70 percent of them will get either an iPhone X, 8 or 8 Plus (pictured).

Apple shares were up 1.8 percent on Monday, closing at $158.88.