2012 iPhone sales could hit 190 million

A post-Thanksgiving survey by Alphawise suggests that the iPhone is selling even better than expected, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty. Based on the survey, conducted the week after Thanksgiving, Huberty now estimates that Apple could ship anywhere between 31 and 36 million iPhones during the current quarter. Huberty's official model still calls for 30 million, and Wall Street consensus is just 28 million.

"Surprisingly," the analyst adds, "US consumers expect to buy more iPhones in C1Q12 than C4Q11." She notes that even if the survey results are knocked back 10 percent, they still hint at 41 million iPhone sales worldwide in the next quarter, of which 13 million would take place in the US. Regardless, her official prediction for the next quarter is holding at 30 million.

Demand for tablets is meanwhile said to be keeping unexpectedly strong. The survey indicates that while only 8 percent of Americans may own some sort of tablet, 27 percent plan on buying one. Huberty proposes that if Apple only gives up "a modest" four points of marketshare to the Amazon Kindle Fire, it could sell 81 million iPads next year. Her formal estimates are once again conservative at 52 million, breaking down into 20 million in the US and 32 million elsewhere.

by MacNN Staff