Apple Ups iPhone Shipments For Q3-Q4, 2011 To 56 Million Units

According to a new report by Digitimes this week, Apple has upped its iPhone shipment goal for the second half of 2011 to 56 Million units, up from the previous 50 Million. Made up of shipments of both the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, this increase is said to be due to Apple factoring in the release of iPhone 5, which is expected to account for 25.5-26 Million of these units.

More specifically, the report claims that Apple originally planned to manufacture a total of 7 Million iPhone 5 units for Q3, although this is now expected to have dropped to around 5.5-6 Million. Preparing for a significant holiday rush, however, Apple is now thought to have upped its Q4 manufacturing efforts from 14 Million to 20 Million units.

According to the publications sources, this will put Apple’s total iPhone output at 95 Million units for 2011.

While Taiwan-based supply chain makers will benefit from increased component orders, they are expected to see pressure for price cuts from Apple, especially touch panel makers which account for the largest proportion of total production costs, the sources said.