Roger Fingas
An Apple chassis supplier, Catcher Technology, on Monday posted $219.81 million in revenues for August, buoyed by what's believed to be a surge of orders for new iPhones shipping this month.
Revenues were up 15.2 percent sequentially, or 43.6 percent year-over-year, DigiTimes reported. Consolidated revenues for the first eight months of the year were up 52.6 percent versus the same period in 2014.
Quoted predictions by market watchers claim that third-quarter revenues could grow by just a single-digit percentage sequentially, but the year's peak is only expected to hit in the fourth quarter.
Catcher is indeed using "new materials" for next-generation iPhone shells, DigiTimes said. Multiple reports have indicated that Apple is opting for tougher 7000-series aluminum, as found on the Apple Watch Sport.
While more expensive, the alloy should make new iPhones more structurally resilient and address some of the complaints about Apple's 2014 models. The iPhone 6 Plus in particular saw charges that it could permanently warp under pressure, for instance if sat on while in a pants pocket. Other similarly-sized smartphones were later found to be vulnerable, but media attention concentrated on Apple.
New iPhones should be announced at a Sept. 9 press event and ship later this month, likely Sept. 18.
Malcolm Owen
Amber Neely
Christine McKee
Chip Loder
Marko Zivkovic
3 Comments
Once again, no objective data about Wall Street's feared "peak-iPhone" slow down. Apple has yet to be-doomed.
7000 aluminum is ridiculously tough.
Oh, boy! A DigiTimes "report"! Sounds exciting. I wonder what breaking stories they have planned? /s