Analysts See iPhone 4S Supply Constraints Throughout Holiday Quarter

Fortune summarizes a pair of analyst reports out today suggesting that Apple may be experiencing some supply constraints on the iPhone 4S during this holiday quarter. The company has obviously been working hard to demand for the device as shipping estimates through iPhone carrier partners and even Apple itself have at times been lengthy, but beyond high demand the new reports suggest that Apple may be having some trouble meeting its own production goals for the device.

iphone 4s white side
The first report, from Rodman and Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar, cites shortages of an unidentified "key component" for the iPhone 4S that is holding back production.

In a note entitled "Limited near-term upside for iPhone," Rodman & Renshaw's Ashok Kumar alerted clients that low yields on an unidentified "key component" is likely to constrain production of the iPhone 4S this quarter.

Including an estimated four million iPhone 4S units that were manufactured but not shipped in the prior quarter, Kumar says that Apple could sell 30 million iPhones this quarter, still a healthy number but leaving Apple without the ability to completely satisfy consumer demand.

The second note comes from Susquehanna Financial's Jeff Fidacaro and similarly cites "supply constraints" as the reason behind his reduction in quarterly iPhone sales of about three million units, moving from 26-28 million units to 23-25 million units. He notes that demand appears to remain strong but that Apple is having a hard time producing enough iPhones to meet that demand.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

iPhone Foldable Display Said to Feature iPad-Style 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Friday March 28, 2025 3:44 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming "iPhone Fold" will feature a foldable screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to a Chinese leaker who previously leaked the book-style device's display dimensions. The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple will adopt a "roughly" 4:3 aspect ratio on the inner display in order to achieve consistency between the outer display, as well as to ensure parity...

Top Rated Comments

SandynJosh Avatar
174 months ago
"Analysts See"

As if these analysts are fortune tellers. There is no such thing as an analyst that "sees" anything. They are literally a group of people that sit around and get paid to make guesses. The pride of America.


I sat in on an analysts meeting once. Here's how it's done. Quite simple really.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RafaelT Avatar
174 months ago
I think I am going to become an Analyst. It seems all you have to do is make random usually incorrect guesses and you get paid.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
topmounter Avatar
174 months ago
I don't normally do this on a public forum, but let me put on my "analyst" hat for a moment...

My analysis indicates that these supply constraints are indicative of a Q1 launch of the next-gen iPhone. I predict that this model may be called iPhone5, with the "5" referring to the predicted (by me) 5-inch screen size. Please visit my website (and don't forget to click on the ads) for in-depth elaboration and pontification on my cursory analysis.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anberlinairlift Avatar
174 months ago
"Analysts See"

As if these analysts are fortune tellers. There is no such thing as an analyst that "sees" anything. They are literally a group of people that sit around and get paid to make guesses. The pride of America.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Peace Avatar
174 months ago
The word "yield" indicates it is either a chip or a display. Display is more likely.

One wonders if supply-demand balance is even possible soon with the release date of international occurring before USA S-D balance occurred and all this overlayed on "black Friday" which is now a week-long season as we have cyber Monday and small business Saturday and whatever else somebody has named to try to juice retail sales.

Overall a pretty good problem to have if you are Apple. Just so long as backlog doesn't float past two weeks for very long at a time. Consumers are not very patient these days. The alternatives while of lesser perceived value are increasingly comparable on a variety of levels.

Rocketman

Makes me wonder if the "constraint on a certain component" isn't manufactured by Samsung.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThunderSkunk Avatar
174 months ago
Hey, I'm an analist too!

Er wait, analyst or analist...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)