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Buyers opting for higher capacity iPhones, likely boosting Apple profits, RBC survey finds

RBC Capital Markets has raised its Apple revenue forecasts for 2015 and 2016, arguing that iPhone demand could beat expectations for some time into the future, and that people are skewing towards buying more expensive, higher capacity iPhone models.

Citing supply chain checks and an RBC survey of over 6,000 people, analyst Amit Daryanani said in a note to investors on Monday that iPhone sales should not only beat earlier June-quarter predictions, but have the potential to stay ahead of forecasts "through 2015 and beyond." Carrier contracts are reportedly still the most important factor behind refresh cycles, which Daryanani suggests should help the upcoming iPhone 6s, alongside the growth of 4G networks in China.

Newer RBC estimates for the June quarter call for $49.3 billion in revenue and $1.78 in earnings per share, versus previous targets of $47.3 billion and $1.69. A copy of Monday's note was provided to AppleInsider.

Specifically, iPhone shipments for the current quarter are forecast to hit 46.5 million, an increase from the firm's earlier target of 42.9 million. Those projections are lower than rival firm Morgan Stanley, who said last week that it believes Apple is on pace to ship 53 million iPhones this quarter.

The survey moreover indicated that the average selling price of iPhones could rise, as many people are planning to buy phones with a greater amount of storage. Apple turns a bigger profit off of its 64- and 128-gigabyte tiers, as the premiums it charges are significantly higher than the cost of the extra memory.

So far there has been no indication that Apple plans to raise its base tier from 16 to 32 gigabytes with this year's anticipated "iPhone 6s." Some rival smartphone makers, such as HTC and Samsung, have been switching to 32 gigabytes as a default.

For the whole of Apple's 2015 fiscal year RBC is now modeling for $233 billion in revenue and $9.07 in earnings per share, improved from a previous forecast of $231 billion and $8.98. The firm's estimates for fiscal 2016 are currently $247 billion and $10.08, assuming a 3 percent bump in iPhone shipments to 236 million.

RBC has maintained its price target of $150 for Apple stock.