Apple's iPhone 4S sold 26m models in the recent third quarter
Apple is reportedly planning to begin taking orders for its next-generation smartphone – dubbed the iPhone 5 – from 12 September in the US. A major international wave of shipments for countries beyond large markets like the US and UK is to take place from 5 October.
According to a report on iMore, the iPhone 5 will be launched on 12 September but won’t be released until 21 September in primary markets like the US and UK.
A second international wave will begin in the first week of October, with 5 October being the most likely date.
iMore quotes sources who were accurate last year with regard to the iPhone 4S on 4 October 2011, with pre-orders taking place on 7 October 2011.
Aggressive iPhone 5 strategy
The earlier release suggests Apple is chomping at the bit and wants to aggressively pursue sales in the fourth quarter and beat off competition from rival devices makers, namely Samsung.
It also wants to win back lost ground. Rumours of the launch of the iPhone 5 are understood to have impacted on sales of the current generation iPhone 4S as consumers hold onto their cash for the new device.
Nevertheless, the iPhone is a huge earner for Apple, with two-thirds of revenues coming from iOS devices, including the iPad tablet computer.
In its recent third-quarter results, Apple reported revenues of US$35bn, yielding a US$8.8bn profit.
Apple sold 26m iPhone devices in the quarter, up 28pc year-on-year, and 17m iPad devices, up 84pc year-on-year. Apple sold 4m Macs during the quarter, a 2pc unit increase over last year, and it sold 6.8m iPods, a 10pc unit decline from a year ago.
