The largest smartphone company in the world is gearing up for one of its biggest holidays yet, as a new research note predicts that Apple would sell 71.5 million iPhones this holiday quarter.
The boom in sales is reportedly brought about by the arrival of the company's newest flagship smartphones, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple Insider reports.
According to a recent report by Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known industry analyst from KGI, Apple would be able to ship almost 72 million iPhones in the fourth quarter.
"Strong iPhone shipments in 4Q14," KGI writes.
"We forecast overall iPhone shipments will surge 82% QoQ to 71.5mn units in 4Q14, given robust demand for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus."
KGI's Ming Chi Kuo built a name for himself as a credible Apple analyst because he has several sources directly from Apple's supply chain.
He noted that quarter-over-quarter Apple iPhone shipments will increase to 82 percent before the year ends.
According to the report, the iPhone 6 will likely sell 41.65 million units, roughly make up almost 60 percent of all sales over the period.
On the other hand, though there is high demand for the bigger iPhone 6 Plus, it is not expected to fare well compared to the iPhone 6.
"The iPhone 6 Plus supply shortage implies not only robust demand, but also confirms our concerns regarding constraints within the supply chain. We believe 4Q14 iPhone shipments will be stronger if supply chain constraints are eased."
Apparently suppliers are having production issues with the larger phones, and Q4 sales are dependent on the supply chain.
Kuo believes final fourth quarter sales are largely dependent on supply chain success with 6 Plus yields.
After strong sales over the holidays, Kuo says that iPhone sales will likely plummet dramatically, reducing production by 49.5 million units.
The demand for the flagship smartphones will settle at a 2:1 ratio in favor of the iPhone 6.
