Providing insight and analysis related to Apple’s announcement of iPhone 5, information and analytics provider IHS is predicting a major surge in shipment in the fourth quarter.
According to IHS, the iPhone 5 represents a strong smartphone launch for Apple and it will be a major success in the market, helping to drive Apple’s smartphone shipments in 2012 to 149 million units – up 60 percent from 93 million in 2011.
Historically, the release of a new iPhone has generated a large quarter-on-quarter surge in iPhone sales. Apple's release strategy plays a major role in this growth.
Based on the IHS study, the new phone will be released with just over a week left in the third quarter, so most of the iPhone 5 sales bump in 2012 will be seen in the final quarter of the year.
When combined with normal seasonality, IHS predicts the fourth quarter this year will be Apple's biggest quarter for iPhone sales in history.
“Unlike last year's release of the iPhone 4S, this year's iPhone 5 announcement comes as a significant departure from previous models,” said Daniel Gleeson, mobile analyst for IHS. “The addition of a new, larger screen is a fundamental change in product design. Furthermore, the iPhone 5 is the first member of Apple’s smartphone line to feature 4G long term evolution (LTE) connectivity, accelerating data speeds dramatically compared to previous models. These major improvements will drive strong sales for the iPhone 5.”
Relative to previous models, the iPhone 5 offers a new 4.0-inch display, which is essentially an elongated-screen version of previous iPhone displays, thus providing additional height with no additional width.
In addition, the screen features in-cell technology to minimize the distance between the user and the display, reducing the thickness of the smartphone.
Despite Android’s size advantage, IHS senior analyst for mobile media Jack Kent thinks the iOS ecosystem is still the most valuable mobile content marketplace. According to Kent, to preserve the original aspect ratio, the new iPhone will support old apps via the addition of a ribbon.
However, the senior analyst believes this should only be a temporary distraction for users as developers update their apps.
The new iPhone can connect to 4G networks that operate in several bands and is compatible with many – but not all – LTE networks in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea and other Southeast Asian markets.
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Edited by
Braden Becker 
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