South Korean analysts expect 100 million iPhone 7 orders fulfilled by end of 2016

A series of analysts from South Korea see only upsides for iPhone 7 component suppliers as a result of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall, with one expecting to see over 100 million sales of Apple's new phone before the end of 2016.

"It is indisputable that the Galaxy Note 7 incident has become a huge plus for Apple," said IBK Investment & Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo. "The order to stop using the Galaxy Note 7 and continuous incidents of them exploding in the US likely have leaned US consumers towards the iPhone."

IBK earlier revealed that South Korean suppliers had orders for components to build 80 to 85 million iPhone 7 units. However, the investment firm also noted that orders had increased an additional 17 percent to 25 percent, pushing quantities over 100 million phones before the end of the year.

Song Eun-jeong from Hi Investment & Securities believes that Apple will seize the top position in the premium smartphone market on the strength of carrier promotions on the device since the recall of the Galaxy Note 7.

Following reports of battery "explosions" in the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung issued a voluntary recall worldwide for the device, and attracted criticism for poor execution of the device swap, as well as the long time it took to involve the U.S. Consumer Protection and Safety Commission. All customers who have purchased a Galaxy Note 7 will be able to swap the device for a new one — but as of Tuesday, retail stores still have little if any replacement stock.

Sales of the Galaxy Note 7 will resume in the U.S. on Sept. 21.

The battery failures weren't the first issues identified by users of the Galaxy Note 7. Reviewers and YouTube examiners have noted that the Gorilla Glass 5 used for the screen of the device is significantly more susceptible to screen scratches than other smartphones, iPhone 7 family included.

Apple will not be announcing first-week sales of the iPhone 7 family. Analytics data suggests that the first weekend of iPhone 7 sales are on par with the iPhone 6s launch and ahead of the iPhone 5s launch week.

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39 Comments

gatorguy 24608 comments · 13 Years

About 8 years ago

Apple was certainly handed a gift by Samsung. A much more valuable one too than the half-$B patent damages award Sammy paid them end of last year. Who needs lawsuits when Samsung is so good at shooting themselves in the foot?

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

Scenario: I'm a Samsung user and I want to buy the Note 7 but I will buy the iPhone 7 Plus instead because the Note 7 isn't available for a few weeks.

I don't accept that theory one little bit, not unless the battery fiasco has so severely damaged Samsung's reputation that I don't want to buy anything Samsung now. I don't accept that theory either.

anantksundaram 20390 comments · 18 Years

gatorguy said:

Apple was certainly handed a gift by Samsung. A much more valuable one too than the half-$B patent damages award Sammy paid them end of last year. Who needs lawsuits when Samsung is so good at shooting themselves in the foot?

Nonsense. There is no evidence of that. Period. (Don't bother linking to some analyst speculation or Bloomberg stories, etc.).

The CEO of Sprint just finished an interview with CNBC. He said that iPhone 7 sales are off the charts, and -- if I heard him correctly -- that it was something like 5x the previous sales of any iPhone. (~~Can someone please verify the latter part?~~ Actually, I just did -- I was able to rewind the program, and he said it was 5x).

EsquireCats 1268 comments · 8 Years

Make no mistake: Apple's success is not at the hand of Samsung's recall, in fact Samsung have very little effect on Apple's total sales in the market Apple competes (premium flagships):

Even if every single recalled Samsung Note user switched to iPhone, that would still be just 2.5M extra units.

Much more logically Apple will see significant sales due to a combination of the compelling features of iPhone 7 along with a spike afforded by the usual 2-year phone ownership cycle.

This analysts posturing only serves to suggest that Samsung out-competes Apple (it doesn't) - the overwelming majority of Samsung's smartphones are low range devices, which is why the likes of Xiaomi have been such a blow to Samsung's sales volumes.