AppleInsider Staff
A rumor out of the Far East on Thursday claims Apple partner supplier Pegatron will be responsible for half of all 4.7-inch "iPhone 6" production, with the remainder going to Foxconn.
The publication claims Apple is expected to ship 50 million 4.7-inch iPhone 6 units by the end of 2014, with Pegatron and Foxconn landing 25 million handsets each. According to sources, Pegatron's share of orders comes thanks to a strengthened relationship with the Cupertino tech giant, which has supposedly been looking to shift supply chain reliance away from Foxconn.
In May, it was rumored that Pegatron would see as little as 15 percent of 4.7-inch iPhone 6 orders, with a bulk of manufacturing going to longtime partner supplier Foxconn. A month later, that number grew to 30 percent. Currently, sources estimate Apple orders — limited to devices like the iPhone 5c, 4S and iPad mini — account for 35 to 40 percent of Pegatron's revenues, meaning the high-end iPhone order will likely be a massive boost to the company's bottom line.
Today's report goes on to say that Foxconn is expected to retain all orders of a larger 5.5-inch iPhone model, though the latest rumblings say production issues may delay the "phablet" device. Combined 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone shipments are anticipated to hit 70 million to 80 million units by year's end, making the upcoming release Apple's biggest smartphone launch ever.
The iPhone 6 is expected to debut at a special media event on Sept. 9. Building up to its fall launch, supposed parts leaks and scuttlebutt suggest the next-gen handset will boast a high-capacity battery, A8 processor, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and possibly NFC support.
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22 Comments
I'm not a betting man, so it's lucky than I won't actually have to pay out when I say I bet there is no 5.5" iPhone being released this year even if I am wrong, which I am sure I won't be. Here's why. Remember all the talk about screen resolutions when the screen last bumped from 3.5" to 4"? All the talk about how developers would have to resize their apps on top of providing retina "x2" assets etc etc. Then when the iPad Mini was out all the talk before was about the screen resolution, and how they couldn't bring in another format for developers to work with and it would have to be the same size as a full size iPad with the screen elements simply scaled differently etc. Same goes for a new iPhone screen format. Firstly, what is the resolution? Is is the same as an iPhone 5 but simply scaled up? Doubt it, the PPI of an iPhone screen is already "low" in comparison to most other flagship displays these days. So, another screen resolution then? Would have to be, and assuming the 16:9 ratio is maintained it would have to be some multiple of that. That covers the 4.7" rumour, but what of the 5.5"? Will that be yet another resolution, or a scaled up version of the 4.7" display? The iPad has 1 resolution across 2 screen sizes. The iPhone has 2 resolutions, over 2 screen sizes. Given that support for the 3.5" 4S has to be maintained as it's supported by iOS8, is this going to be bumped to 3 or 4 resolutions across the phone line up? Basically, I have heard no talk about this sort of thing that was very prevalent before the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini. No clever hauling through iOS betas to find the references to such things and so on like before, and no chatter from worried developers about having to cover up to 6 screen formats (luckily at least everything is Retina now which halves the load). I'm not even sure we will see a 4.7" for this very reason, and am 100% that there will be no 5.5" version (and even if I was wrong about this, I would say it's more likely to be an iPad Nano than a phone).
If it is an iPad Nano, then it would have the same problem, 1 resolution in 3 difference screen size? 5.5 would be about 450PPI.
Although I wouldn't mind an iPad Nano with VoLTE capability.
LTE 6/7 too?
The good news for me here is Apple's diversification of its manufacturing base. This isn't just good for reducing dependance it is also good for increasing production capabilities. Win win ...
Looks and smells like a rumor to spark up Pegatron's stock. Not buying it without concrete proof.