If Samsung does in fact increase the price of building mobile processors for Apple, the change is expected to reduce the company's overall margins by as much as 2 percentage points.
Supply of the iPhone 5 for carriers AT&T and Verizon continues to improve, and may reach consistent availability in the next 2 to 3 weeks, according to a new survey of Apple retail stores.
Following the announcement that 3 million units were sold over the launch weekend for the iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad, market watchers reacted positively and said the numbers exceeded their expectations.
With the iPad mini hitting shelves Friday, supply of Apple's iPhone 5 has not yet caught up with demand in the U.S., according to a survey of Apple retail stores.
The iPad mini is forecast to get off to a strong but modest start this weekend with sales of up to 1.5 million units, but over time Apple's 7.9-inch tablet is expected to gain popularity.
Major changes to Apple's executive team surprised investors this week, but market watchers don't believe anything is awry with the company's management.
Though Apple expects its margins to shrink in the holiday quarter as the company goes through an unprecedentedly large product transition, Wall Street watchers remain confident in recommending investors buy AAPL stock.
Though the starting price of the iPad mini is higher than many had expected, Wall Street analysts believe the storage capacity and build quality offered by Apple will be more than enough to court consumers and make the product a success.
Activation figures from Verizon show that sales of the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 were relatively strong prior to the launch of the iPhone 5, suggesting Apple's September quarter could be stronger than expected.
Apple's anticipated "iPad mini" is forecast to have a cannibalization rate of 20 percent, which would mean every five smaller iPads sold would take the place of one full-size 9.7-inch iPad.
Though sales of the iPhone 5 over its launch weekend broke records, the 5 million units sold by Apple came in below Wall Street expectations, as the company's limited supply was not able to keep up with considerable demand.
A survey of lines at Apple stores in New York, Boston and Minneapolis found that crowds for the iPhone 5 are 83 percent larger than they were for the iPhone 4S, which has led one analyst to predict sales of 8 million iPhones this launch weekend.
With Apple's iPhone 5 already off to a record setting start, market watchers have expressed greater confidence that Apple could sell as many as 10 million units before the current quarter ends on September 29.
The quality and build of the iPhone 5 will be enough to impress consumers in a market dominated by cheaply made smartphones, according to one analyst.
Apple is on pace to see a record breaking September quarter with sales of 5.1 million Macs in the three-month span, according to the latest data.
With customers holding off purchases in anticipation of Apple's next iPhone, an expected September launch is forecast to provide a significant boost for the company's current quarter, with sales reaching as high as 10 million in just one week.
Apple is predicted to drop the price of an existing iPhone to $200 unsubsidized in 2013, accelerating share gains for its smartphone platform in emerging markets.
Though Apple fell short of market expectations with its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, analysts on Wall Street still have great expectations for the company during the 2012 holiday shopping season.
On Tuesday Apple will report earnings for its third quarter of fiscal 2012, and analysts expect the iPad will be in a position to set new records, while consensus on the iPhone is more divided.
A new survey has found that the average iPhone user considers their handset to be worth $313 to them, while Android smartphones are valued at $220.
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Neil Hughes
Sam Oliver
AppleInsider Staff
