Today's report presents two views of how well iPhone X sales are doing based on different data. It boils down to one seeing the glass half empty while the other seeing as half full.

The first report is a supply chain report that states that shipments of the iPhone X are estimated to reach between 30-35 million units in the fourth quarter of 2017 and stay flat or drop slightly in the first quarter of 2018, according to sources from the semiconductor packaging and testing service industry.

The supply chain sources pointed out that the pre-orders for the iPhone X in a number of markets such as Taiwan, the US and Singapore, weren't as strong as expected. However, in other markets such as Japan, the iPhone X is still reported to have experienced tight supply.

Yet with that said, we see that in a second report that Morgan Stanley has put Apple as their top tech pick for 2018 because of the iPhone X is a hit in China. If it's a hit in China, then the smaller Taiwan and Singapore slower sales are irrelevant.

Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty noted in her client report that new data shows that iPhone X adoption in China is on a faster pace than the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.

The report further noted that the popularity of the iPhone X also appears to be driving more smartphone users to switch away from other brands.

More importantly, Huberty noted that "Ultimately, these data points show that faster iPhone X penetration, coupled with increasing switching rates to Apple, have accelerated market share gains for the iPhone in China."

Returning to the supply chain report, they further noted that "Apple is also rumored to be preparing a prototype iPhone with support of pre-5G features." That would be welcomed news because those buying smartphones in late 2018 will want to have some form of future proofing so as to not miss the 5G network rollouts in 2019-2020.

On a last note, the supply chain report noted that Apple Watch sales are likely to reach 27 million units, higher than the previous' forecast of 23-25 million.

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