Downbeat iPhone X sales projections hobble Apple shares

Apple confirmed a theory many users have had for years: the iPhone gets slower with age. The confirmation comes after Reddit users noticed their devices were getting slower as the batteries in their iPhones got weaker. Apple heads into the new year with some unusually downbeat news: its new iPhone X isn't proving to be quite the sales darling that some of its previous smartphones have been. Shares of Cupertino tech giant were down 3% in early trading Tuesday after several market analysts forecast lower than expected demand for the latest iPhone, with its edge-to-edge screen, face-recognition software and lofty price. Apple could cut its sales forecast for the first quarter of 2018 to 30 million units, down from an initial target of 50 million, according to a report in Taiwan's Economic Daily News cited by Reuters.