The iPhone X may not be selling as well as Apple hoped

The iPhone X is one of our favorite gadgets of 2017, and basically sets the benchmark for new smartphones. It has an impeccable camera, a gigantic screen that takes up the entire front panel, and a fancy 3D camera used for authentication.

But all of this excitement hasn't been enough to guarantee strong sales. Early signs indicated iPhone X adoption was outpacing iPhone 8 and 8 Plus sales in the first week of availability, but expectations have finally tempered.

Now, multiple Wall Street firms are reporting Apple will be reducing its iPhone X shipment forecast in Q1 2018 from 50 million to 30 million units, according to MacRumors.

It's important to remember that these reduced forecasts tend to vary widely depending on the firm. As Reuters reported, the firm JL Warren Capital is forecasting Apple will ship 25 million iPhone X units in the first quarter. A competing firm, Loop Capital, forecasts 40 or 45 million shipments of the phone. Both, however, are below estimates based on Apple's original sales forecast.

The lower sales forecasts come in stark contrast to the incessant reports of iPhone X shortages coming out only a few months ago. When the phone first launched in November, customers were initially met with delayed shipping dates. Eventually, Apple was able to move shipping dates up by significantly increasing production. There is a chance that the shortage had an overall effect on total shipments.

In addition to the shortage that never was -- or perhaps because of it -- the firm CLSA warned clients that iPhone X sales predictions were "inflated" and that people should lower their expectations for Q1 2018.

"We maintain that 2017 fourth-quarter iPhone X volumes were at 30 to 35 million and we are very skeptical that volumes will increase in the first quarter of 2018," CLSA analyst Nicolas Baratte said in a research memo, according to a CNBC report.

"This does not reconcile with the expectation of pent-up demand or push-out to the first quarter of 2018 in our opinion: consumers who wanted to get an iPhone X in December 2017 already have it," she added.

CLSA added that if iPhone X sales continued to lag, Apple would likely release a "lower-priced X-gen option," meaning that the firm expects Apple to lower the cost of the $1,000 iPhone. The firm added that it expects to see an iPhone X Plus, or a larger-sized model of the phone, in 2018.

The larger-phone rumor echoes a report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has an immaculate record finding legitimate iPhone leaks. Kuo suggests there will be three new phones in 2018: a 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch model with OLED displays and a 6.1-inch model with an LCD display.

Of course, we'll need to wait and see exactly what Apple decides to do with the iPhone X in the coming months. For now, one this is certain: All our friends still wish they had one.