Apple will enjoy its best performance this year since the success of the iPhone 6 series, according to industry sources.
In a report by Digitimes, shipments of the new iPhone series that will be unveiled in mid-September are expected to reach 70 to 75 million units by the end of 2018. The number is considered Apple's best performance since the launch of the iPhone 6 series. The increase in shipments will help increase the revenues of Apple's main supply partners, such as the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Foxconn, in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Apple is scheduled to release three new iPhone devices soon, including two OLED models with 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch screens and a 6.1-inch LCD model. Sources said the upgrades in design and functions, coupled with the price-friendliness of the 6.1-inch model, could boost the shipment momentum compared with their predecessors.
Apple's Supply Partners To Increase Profit
Aside from Apple, the income of its other supply partners is expected to gradually increase before hitting its peak in the fourth quarter of the year. One of them is TSMC, which provides all the 7nm foundry orders for A12 application processor chips for the new iPhone devices.
Since July, TSMC's revenue has picked up, enabling the company to recover from a significant revenue contraction due to a decline in order for crypto mining ASICs from China's Bitmain and Canaan Creative. The company is also expected to shrug off the decline in its third-quarter sales in the fourth quarter of 2018. Based on estimates, TSMC is expected to earn around $10.4-10.5 billion in the fourth quarter. In the first half of 2018, TSMC earned around $16.31 billion, while it expects to generate an income of $8.28-8.38 billion in the third quarter.
In addition to fabricating Apple's A12 chips, TSMC will also produce HiSilicon's Kirin 980 chipsets that will be used in Huawei's latest Mate 20 flagship series that is expected to be launched in October. TSMC will also work on the new-generation Snapdragon 855 SoCs.
Foxconn's Revenue Hit Record-High In July
Foxconn, one of the two companies behind the assembly of new iPhone devices, saw its profit grew to a record high in July. The momentum of its July growth is expected to continue until the end of the year. Sources said Foxconn landed majority of the assembly orders for the two OLED-screen models. Foxconn also bagged 30 percent of LCD iPhone orders, while the rest will go to Pegatron, the other company that works on assembly of iPhones.
