Apple looks set to beat last year’s iPhone sales for the second quarter of the year, if one prominent analyst is to be believed.
Whether there’s marginal growth or decline, it’s always a dead cert that Apple will sell iPhones by the bucketload each and every financial quarter. But one analyst reckons that despite the looming iPhone 8 mega-launch, sales of the iPhone 7 – and other Apple handsets – are doing very well.
In a note seen by AppleInsider, Cowen and Company analyst Timothy Arcuri forecasted that Apple would ship 41.5 million iPhone units in the quarter ending in June 2017. That’s a sizeable figure, made even more impressive by the fact that Apple sold fewer iPhones in the same quarter last year – 40.4 million units, to be exact.
It’s potentially surprising news, given that the market is currently anticipating a so-called “super cycle” with the next major iPhone release.
For many months, the rumour mill has been suggesting that Apple will be creating a special edition iPhone 8 handset to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. This special handset is tipped to go on sale alongside more traditional and incremental iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus handsets.
One of the key changes expected to be introduced with the iPhone 8 is the long-awaited debut of OLED screens on an Apple smartphone. While rival Samsung has been using OLED panels on flagship Galaxy phones for years, Apple has steered clear of the tech – until now, anyway.
OLED screens have a key advantage over traditional LED-backlit LCD displays in that the individual pixels in the panel produce their own light. This means there’s no need for a backlight, thus saving power. Also, because individual pixels can be turned on or off, it’s possible to display true blacks, allowing for a wider colour gamut and better dynamic range.
But Apple is also expected to borrow the slim-bezel design we’ve seen from a number of manufacturers this year, including Samsung with the Galaxy S8 and LG with the G6. The iPhone 8 is widely tipped to feature an “all-screen front”, as recently predicted by well-known Apple commentator Ming-Chi Kuo.
Unfortunately, Apple is keeping mum on all things iPhone 8 for now, so take any rumours with due caution. We expect to hear more from the Californian tech giant come September, so we’ll have to sit tight until then.
Related: iPhone 7 Plus review
What would you like to see from Apple’s next major iPhone release? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.