The iPhone X isn’t here just yet, and people with knowledge of the matter hint at very limited initial stock, but analysts believe that despite all these problems, the upcoming model will be the most successful iPhone in history.

GBH Insights analyst Daniel Ive says the iPhone X will benefit from the existing installed base, which is at least 2 years old, so many Apple customers will be very interested in upgrading to the X. There are 350 million users who are considering an upgrade, with 93 percent of the existing iPhone users planning to stick with the iPhone, hence their smartphone could be the X.

“The last time we saw pent up installed base demand and consumer feedback mirroring (or close to) this was around the iPhone 6, which ultimately became a critical and unprecedented successful launch period for Apple,” the analyst explained.

“Our model assumes Apple sells more iPhones in the 12 months following the iPhone X and iPhone 8/8+ launch than the peak iPhone 6 upgrade cycle.”

Record sales next year

According to an interview with CNBC, the current prediction is that Apple will sell a total of 265 million iPhone units in the fiscal year 2018, up from 231 million units in the fiscal year 2015, and it’s all thanks to the iPhone X.

But even though Ive himself is very optimistic about iPhone X’s chances to become a big hit, sales won’t skyrocket until 2018 when Apple finally aligns production with demand. There’s a chance that shipment times will be increased significantly towards the end of the year, especially as yield rate has been substantially low, sources close to suppliers said.

“We believe the iPhone X product cycle could be the strongest iPhone product cycle to date,” the analyst predicted.

The iPhone X will go up on pre-order on October 27, while shipments will begin on November 3, with prices to begin at $999.