Although Apple’s iPhone 4 has been the world’s best-selling handset since its release in June of 2010, a new survey conducted by RBC capital markets suggests that the upcoming iPhone 5 is seeing unprecedented consumer demand ahead of its anticipated release next month.
According to the survey of 2200 people, headed by RBC analyst Mike Abramsky, 31% of respondents were either likely or somewhat likely to purchase the iPhone 5 once it is released, compared to a similar survey from last year showing that 25% of consumers planned to purchase the iPhone 4.
Further, the survey reveals that a full two-thirds of existing iPhone owners are planning to upgrade to the iPhone 5. As a result of this survey, and of the likely release of the iPhone 5 on both Sprint and T-Mobile, RBC has increased it’s first-quarter iPhone shipment estimates to 27 million units, up from 24.4 million.
Abramsky projects that Apple will ship a massive 110 million iPhones during 2012, up from previous estimates of around 105 million. Abramsky also increased his iPad shipment estimates in fiscal Q4 to 12.5 million units from 10.5 million in light of back-to-school demand.
