iPhone 4S sales likely to exceed 100 million, spurring growth in NAND Flash market

TAIWAN: Apple’s next-generation iPhone was launched at 10:00 a.m. (PST) on October 4th. In line with the analysis and predictions conducted by TrendForce’s research divisions based on the information gathered from key component makers, it comes as no surprise that the new model is iPhone 4s instead of the highly anticipated and the significant upgrade to iPhone 5.

While iPhone 4S, a minor upgrade from the earlier version, may disappoint some high-end users, TrendForce analysts believe that a strong market demand remains: it has been one year and four months since the last iPhone was released, and there are consumers in the market that have looking to purchase new phones. In addition to the expected strong market demand, the new iPhone is equipped with high-capacity NAND Flash, which will also trigger a significant growth in the NAND Flash market.

According to TrendForce’s predictions, the performance enhancement of the next-generation iPhone is expected to propel iPhone’ total sales and increase its market share. In fact, TrendForce analysts indicate that the iPhone shipment in 2012 may surpass 100 million. With this sales surge of this scale, significant growth in the NAND Flash market in 2012 is in store. At the moment, the NAND Flash market is experiencing a slight oversupply, and the new iPhone’s high demand is expected to stabilize the NAND Flash price, possibly creating a minor undersupply, triggering a price increase.Source: TrendForce, Taiwan.

iPhone’s touch panel suppliers, including TPK, Wintek and CMI, have delivered their components in advance for new iPhone’s assembly. With the anticipated high demand, it is no surprise that these three major suppliers to benefit from the new iPhone’s mass production and sales.