Despite a slowdown in China’s smartphone market, Apple is reportedly increasing orders of the iPhone 6s ahead of its launch, according to Japan Display CEO Mitsuru Homma.
“They’re coming to us with more orders, saying ‘give us more, give us more’. They keep increasing,” Homma said.
While he did not explicitly name Apple in the interview, Homma referred to Japan Display’s “biggest client” — which could hardly be anyone but Apple.
Earlier this year, Apple reportedly struck a deal with Japan Display to build a $1.4 billion factory dedicated solely to building smartphone displays for future iPhones.
Homma also didn’t reveal whether the increased orders are a confirmation of Apple’s faith in the iPhone 6s, as has been suggested in previous reports, or is simply Apple giving Japan Display a bigger piece of the iPhone pie at the expense of other manufacturers.
Even with the Chinese smartphone market slowing down, Tim Cook recently reassured AAPL shareholders that the country has a big role to play in Apple’s future.
“I continue to believe China represents an unprecedented opportunity over the long term,” Cook wrote in a letter to CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer. “I get updates on our performance in China every day, including this morning, and I can tell you that we have continued to experience strong growth for our business in China through July and August.”
The iPhone 6s is being viewed as the biggest incremental “s” iPhone upgrade in Apple’s history — with upgrades made to camera, processor and a variety of other internal components, along with the long-awaited arrival of Force Touch. It will be revealed at next week’s September 9 event.
Source: Reuters
