Demand for Apple's next iPhone at an 'unprecedented level'

A new survey of consumers has found that a record number of people indicated they are "likely" to buy Apple's next iPhone, expected to launch later this year.

ChangeWave's latest survey, conducted in June and released on Monday, found that 14 percent of consumers indicated they are "very likely" to buy a so-called "iPhone 5." Another 17 percent of people said they are "somewhat likely" to buy Apple's next iPhone.

"The biggest finding of the survey is the unprecedented level of advanced demand for the next generation Apple iPhone (i.e., the 'iPhone 5') â€” which based on these survey numbers easily dwarfs the advance demand of any previous iPhone launch," ChangeWave said.

Last October, 10 percent of consumers said they were "very likely" to buy an iPhone 4S, while 11.5 percent identified themselves as "somewhat likely." The iPhone 4S went on to have a record breaking debut, resulting in sales of 37 million iPhones during the holiday 2011 launch quarter.

ChangeWave's latest data is based on a poll of 4,042 primarily North American consumers. Those polled were told that Apple's next-generation iPhone is likely to launch later this year with a larger screen, improved camera, new iOS 6 operating system, and 4G LTE capability, all at the same price points of the current iPhone 4S.

The latest poll also found good news for Samsung, with 19 percent of customers indicating they plan to buy a Samsung smartphone in the next 90 days. That demand has been driven largely by the recent release of the Galaxy S III, Samsung's latest flagship Android smartphone.

Specific to the Galaxy S III, 2 percent of respondents said they are "very likely" to buy Samsung's latest handset, while 7 percent said they are "somewhat likely." The top reason for buyers to choose the Galaxy S III was "the size and quality of screen," which accounted for 15 percent of anticipated sales.

While the survey shows positive results for Apple and Samsung, other handset makers have continued to flounder. Interest in Motorola devices was down two percentage points to 4 percent, HTC was unchanged at 3 percent, and RIM remains stuck at its all-time low of 2 percent. Finnish smartphone maker Nokia saw a slight uptick of one-point, but remains low at just 2 percent.