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.
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
23 responses to “The Demand for The iPhone 5 Is Absolutely Unprecedented”
I just got to say that that mockup shown in the picture is my absolute favorite! It’s somewhat how I expected the iPhone 4 to look like.
Of course the demand is breaking unprecedented. A new iPhone didn’t come out in the summer. Duh.
iSheeps
Last saturday I got robbed of my iPhone 4 now I want one but will waith for the iPhone 5. Wast of money to buy a phone that is more than a year old.
I was slightly disappointed with yesterday’s report that the new iPhone 5 is only going to be a spruced up version of the iPhone 4. Have we really waited all this time for a spec bump? And really, when will Apple even announce this phone? I’m starting to doubt the rumored October 8 release date.
I just wonder why they invented the antenna-frame then
Unprecedented demand to me would mean 30%+ people saying yes, they would buy the iPhone 5 upon release and not ‘very likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’. I’m ‘somewhat likely’ to buy ketchup next time I go shopping. It doesn’t mean to say the demand for it is unprecedented.
Huh?
cool..
I just got a $829.99 iPåd2 for only $103.37 and my mom got a $1499.99 HDTV for only $251.92, they are both coming with USPS tomorrow. I would be an idiot to ever pay full retail prices at places like Walmart or Bestbuy. I sold a 37″ HDTV to my boss for $600 that I only paid $78.24 for.
I use BÏDFiRsT. COM
I’m still very happy with my iPhone 4. I think a year is too quick to upgrade since Apple have established the spec increases between concurrent versions is usually pretty superficial (ie, if all the iPhone 5 is adding is a bit of extra speed, I can easily wait a bit longer).
Bring on the iPhone 6. XD
The design looks more like an updated 3GS than an updated 4. Odd that they’d only have that style around for 1 gen and then almost go back to the previous gen for a basis.
Who’s to say that the design has to be more like an updated iPhone 4? To me it just makes sense that the new iPhone looks more similar to the iPad.
Plastic aside I like the 3GS design better than the 4’s design, from a visual aspect that is; The iPhone 4 is a much more solid and robust phone.