While much has been made of Apple's strong iPhone sales this quarter with estimates now pushing toward 30 million units, what hasn't been known is the mix of iPhone models contributing to that number. The significant majority of sales are almost certainly from the current iPhone 4S, but the company continues to offer lower-end 8 GB iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS models in some markets. Higher-capacity iPhone 4 models are also available in countries where the iPhone 4S has yet to launch.
Ahead of the iPhone 4S debut, the iPhone 3GS was continuing to sell well under the shadow of the iPhone 4 in the United States, suggesting that there is indeed a significant market for these lower-end devices.
A new report from Digitimes now puts some production numbers on these low-end models for the current quarter, claiming that Apple's manufacturing partners are pushing out two million units of the iPhone 3GS this quarter. In addition, Apple is said to be producing 800,000-1 million CDMA iPhone 4 units.
Apple has been increasing its penetration into entry-level smartphone markets and the OEM production of iPhone 3GS has continued steadily with the volume likely to reach two million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 1.4-1.6 million units in the first quarter of 2012, according to industry sources.
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Meanwhile, the production of the CDMA version of iPhone 4 is expected to top 800,000 to one million units in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 500,000-600,000 units in the following quarter, estimated the sources.
Unaddressed is the GSM iPhone 4, which is undoubtedly being produced at an even higher rate given the worldwide market for the device. And despite Apple's rapid international rollout of the iPhone 4S, a number of countries are still yet to see the device and are thus still selling the GSM iPhone 4 as the most current model.
