All of the chatter surrounding the iPhone 5 has created ‘unprecedented’ demand, one analyst announced Tuesday. More than 30 percent of consumers surveyed indicate they are either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to purchase Apple’s latest smartphone, expected in October.
In a RBC/ChangWave survey of 2,200 people taken in early August, 13 percent of respondents indicated they were “very likely” to purchase the upcoming iPhone. Another 18 percent said they were “somewhat likely.” The 31 percent of people likely to purchase an iPhone 5 tops the demand for the earlier handset, the iPhone 4. Some 12 percent of respondents were “very likely” and 13 percent “somewhat likely” to purchase the handset released in June 2010.
RBC analyst Mike Abramsky also expects a “significant” number of current iPhone owners to upgrade. Some 66 percent said they would upgrade, according to the poll. More than half of Sprint and T-Mobile customers said they would likely buy the iPhone 5 if available from those carriers. The Wall Street Journal reported Sprint may get the iPhone 5 when released in October. Many believe the new iPhone will be available through T-Mobile should AT&T overcome government objections to the merger.
As a result of such high demand for the iPhone 5, the analyst increased his iPhone sales forecast. He now expects Apple will sell 110 million iPhones in fiscal 2012, with 27 million handsets sold just in the first quarter of the next fiscal year.
The survey also carried good news for iPad sales, which some have predicted would falter as more alternatives become available. Instead, iPad demand increased to 85 percent of tablet buyers, up from 82 percent in February.
It appears the only limiting factor for sales of the iPhone or the iPad will again be supply.
