When the iPhone 7 went on sale last week, several models sold out straight away, compounding the PR disaster that has been the Samsung exploding mobile phone battery on its Galaxy Note 7.
With its nearest rival struggling, Apple itself is now having to scramble to find more stock. Bluefin Research Partners John Donovan and Steve Mullane say that Apple is “frantically asking component suppliers to pull in deliveries in a mad rush to deliver incremental iPhone 7 units by year end”.
Shipment estimates for the September quarter have been upped by one million to 45 million, while the December quarter will see an estimated increase of four million up to 82 million.
As for Samsung, one analyst says the Galaxy Note 7 battery issue has cost the South Korean approximately US$1.3 billion and counting.