Apple Orders Its Supply Chain to Produce 72-78 Million iPhone 7 Units for This Year

The Economic Daily News report suggests that Apple has ordered production of around 72-78 million iPhone 7 devices this year, significantly above analyst estimates.

The 72-78 million target is in fact a record for iPhone production in recent years, implying that the iPhone 7 could return Apple’s smartphone division to sales growth later in the year.

Apple supply chain partners are booming today in the markets following the news; Pegatron stock is currently up 10%. Consensus from analysts had expected production circa 65 million, so a jump in ten million units is significant.

Foxconn will continue to be the primary manufacturer for iPhone 7, with Pegatron assisting as usual. Beyond assembly, these companies are also expected to participate in dual camera production.

Rumors about iPhone 7 have run rampant in the last few months but a significant external design change does not appear to be on the cards. Case and schematic leaks present an iPhone 7 design that largely mirrors the iPhone 6s, with various camera upgrades and redesigned antenna lines on the back side.

Internally, the phone will no doubt feature many upgrades to components such as Apple’s A10 processor (faster CPU, GPU), an increase in RAM to 3GB and a possible 256 GB storage option.

There has also been several rumors that the iPhone 7 will be waterproof for the first time. A major external design revamp is currently pinpointed for 2017 with an all-glass AMOLED ‘iPhone 8’.

The company records its first non-record revenue quarter for the first time in 13 years last month, mainly due to to slowing iPhone sales year-over-year.

Assuming the Economic Daily report turns out to be true, Apple is looking to return to iPhone growth with its next-generation model. Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 7 at a media press event in the fall, likely around September.

Source: 9to5Mac

Display Manufacturing Supplier Gives More Evidence for OLED iPhone in 2017
Applied Materials, a firm that makes equipment to build screens for smartphones, is reporting a huge leap in orders, reports Bloomberg. The four-fold increase adds credence to a series of reports claiming that Apple is planning a brighter, 5.8-inch OLED display in an iPhone for a 2017 launch.

New Apple Screen

The company received a year’s worth of orders in a single quarter and, without ever saying “Apple,” Applied Materials still signaled where its products would be going and that it was readying itself for long-term growth. “It’s not a peak or a one-time event,” Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson said to Bloomberg. “This is going to be sustainable growth. We all know who is the leader in terms of mobile products.”

In its earnings call earlier this month, Applied Materials disclosed that the “great majority” of its mobile display business was focused on OLED displays.

Three of Apple’s biggest suppliers - Samsung, LG, and Foxconn (which bought Sharp, earlier this year) - have all announced heavy investments in display manufacturing equipment and technology. Because of the need to build up a supply chain, orders for manufacturing equipment today would signal a ramp up for a consumer product coming out next year.

At this point, there is only circumstantial evidence to suggest that the increase in OLED production capacity would be for Apple, but it’s also the only company that sells enough phones to cause this sort of ripple effect across the industry.

The addition of an OLED screen would be a significant upgrade for the iPhone and would be somewhat out of character for a more minor “s” iPhone upgrade that would normally be expected for 2017. The iPhone 7 is widely expected to be released this autumn. It could suggest the end of the every-other-year cycle for major iPhone revisions, which dovetails with Apple’s recent move to introduce the iPhone SE some six months after the iPhone 6S was released.

Source: The Verge

Gartner Announces Its Rankings of the 2016 Supply Chain Top 25