Apple has initially ordered 15 million iPhone 5 handsets from two manufacturers say reports. If correct, the first-month figure is about five times the number of iPhone 4 units the Cupertino, Calif. company sold during the same four-week period in 2010. Could the iPhone 5 be Apple’s first truly international launch, or merely the launch where supply is least lopsided compared to demand?
The Cupertino, Calif. iPhone maker has split the 15 million unit order between Foxconn and Pegatron Technology, according to industry publication DigiTimes.
On Friday, another report suggested Apple plans in September to offer the fifth-generation iPhone in China, meaning the possibility of an August launch in the United States. This latest report refutes previous rumors that the new iPhone would appear first in September.
In related news, the Chinese-language Commercial Times is reporting the iPhone 5 may be the last Apple handset to be powered by the A5 processor built by Samsung. Apple may introduce the A6 processor in the iPhone 6 and iPad 3, expected in 2012. If the report is correct, the move would end Apple’s strained relationship with Samsung Electronics. The chipmaker helped Apple produce the A5 that powered the iPad 2 and iPhone 4.
