
Clearly, the Apple community is excited for the release of the fifth generation iPhone. iPhone 4, sales, however, don't reflect this hype, and some analysts are scratching their heads with regard to what it could mean for 5th-gen iPhone sales.
On Friday, prominent Wall Street analyst Analyst Shaw Wu released a note to investors in which he revealed that sources in Apple's global supply chain indicate a ridiculously strong demand for the iPhone 4 lingers. Calling the demand surprisingly robust, Wu once again reiterated that the iPhone 4 remains the top-selling U.S. smartphone - not withstanding the fact that the device is now well over one-year old.
"The reason why this is remarkable is demand for iPhone 4 remains fairly robust despite it being well known that there will be an upcoming iPhone 5 refresh," Wu noted in his report. Although no one is suggesting that the iPhone 5 won't be an immediate hit and global sensation, the iPhone 5 may have its work cut out for itself in terms of catching fire the way the iPhone 4 has.
Just Thursday, MMi reported that inventory of the iPhone 4 has begun dwindling to such an extent that it may now take upwards of three days for new orders to ship. As recently as last week, orders for both the Verizon and AT&T iPhone 4 models were shipping within 24 hours. Briefly yesterday, all models and colors of the fourth generation handset were seeing decreased shipping times. As of this writing, however, shipping times appear to improved and returned to their 24-hour shipping window (although it's difficult to predict for how long this will remain the case as iPhone 5 production now monopolizes the assembly lines).
Source: 24/7 Wall Street
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