Apple Increasing iPhone Production with iPhone 5 Ramp-Up

Digitimes offers some updated estimates for iPhone production for the second half of 2011. According to them, Apple has increased the orders for their iPhone line by about 12-13% from 50 million units to 56 million units. The iPhone 5 in particular will reportedly account for 25.5-26 million units in the second half of 2011.

More specifically, iPhone 5 orders for the 3rd quarter (July, Aug, Sept) have been decreased from 7 million units to 5.5-6 million units while the 4th quarter (Oct, Nov, Dec) orders have been raised from 14 million units to more then 20 million units. Meanwhile, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 unit shipments will decline correspondingly from over 20 million in the 3rd quarter to 8 million in the 4th quarter.

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As always, it's very hard to verify these projection numbers from Digitimes. They have previously offered up some unbelievable MacBook Air numbers. The iPhone numbers are likely closer to reality, as Apple's iPhone sales have been accelerating. Apple sold 20.34 million iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 units during their 3rd fiscal quarter (Apr, May, June). Note that Apple's financial results follow a fiscal yearly quarter system while Digitimes frequently refers to calendar quarters.

Based on these numbers, Apple's production for calendar Q3 and Q4 of all iPhones will be roughly 25.5 million and 28 million units, respectively. Looking at the history sales graph, these times of the year do represent major jumps in sales for Apple.

Some questions arise though, if these are accurate. 8 million units of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS in the 4th quarter must account for some ongoing sales of those units, since the iPhone 5 is believed to be launching in October. Continuing production and sales of the older models could have to do with a reduced pricing model or simply a slow worldwide roll out. Apple frequently launches their new devices in the U.S. first with other countries to follow.

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Top Rated Comments

Apple... Avatar
179 months ago
Who cares - I just want them to announce it already.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
179 months ago
Lol, everyone's mad at this, it's a joke!
No one is mad.

Negative score on his post is for the lame factor.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
179 months ago
"Believed to be launching in October" ??? ReallY????

THERE WILL BE NO iPhone 5!!!!!!!!! There will be NO iPhone 5!!! I repeat.

Apple is going to hypnotize their fully salivating user-base and implant Broadcom chips in their brains so they can use mind waves to sell billions of Apps from the Mac App store and beam all of your thoughts to the iCloud.

THY APPLE hath CONTROL of YOU.
This is the stupidest s*it I've ever read in my life.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miamialley Avatar
179 months ago
"Believed to be launching in October" ??? ReallY????

THERE WILL BE NO iPhone 5!!!!!!!!! There will be NO iPhone 5!!! I repeat.

Apple is going to hypnotize their fully salivating user-base and implant Broadcom chips in their brains so they can use mind waves to sell billions of Apps from the Mac App store and beam all of your thoughts to the iCloud.

THY APPLE hath CONTROL of YOU.

Apple needs to pay attention to the only REAL serious computer they produce, the Mac Pro, the Power Macintosh of today, and stop their chicken-sh*tting with the iToys....if they don't get their game together, the serious computer users are going to abandon Apple and go elsewhere for real Power computing needs, if they can't be met by an Apple box anymore. And don't even start with the iCloud, that is a plan for total domination of the information ecosystem, with all of your sensitive data, photos, preferences and behaviors stored in a server farm in North Carolina...and I can guarantee you the uses of that data won't be 100% benign if the wrong people get their hands on it.

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Yes, and when the US can't repay their debt and China takes over full control of our economy and confiscates the iCloud infrastructure, your sensitive data will be under full control of the Chinese, where they can use that data to turn you to Socialism and bow to them. It's a direction that quite frankly scares me, iCloud is not as benign as it seems and may prove to the demise of the information age, when all of your private data and preferences are held on a remotely-controlled computer system (that can be hacked as well, I might add)

Ha, and I am sure you haven't read about how there is a loophole right now in the battery firmware of every MacBook Pro that can be exploited to potentially damage your machine or fry your battery?

And what about losing that iPhone 4 prototype? How secure are they at keeping things "under control"

Apple is a business, they can use your data to market to you, to try to sell you things, or to control your "purchasing environment" -- they are already doing this with "genius" in iTunes for crying out loud.

I hereby declare you 'the MR tin foil hat guy.' Post on!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bugfaceuk Avatar
179 months ago
The only thing that could get me to upgrade is Flash support. I'm sick of not being able to view the internet properly. Quit messing around and just let Adobe make it.

I think this is a compelling argument. Just look at what having Flash has done for sales of the Playbook and other Android tablets, people are desperate for this feature.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AnthonyHarris Avatar
179 months ago
The only thing that could get me to upgrade is Flash support. I'm sick of not being able to view the internet properly. Quit messing around and just let Adobe make it.

That isn't going to happen. HTML 5 is doing far to well for apple to lift their iOS ban on flash.

Looks like you'll be stuck with Android. Poor you. Hah.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)