Here is another sign that the iPhone 7 may be a bit more successful than its predecessor: An Apple chip supplier has posted a stronger than expected quarter, reports Reuters. Apple shares rose 1% following the preliminary quarterly earnings report.
German supplier Dialog Semiconductor Plc has reported higher than expected revenue, which, combined with previous reports from T-Mobile and Sprint revealing strong pre-orders for the iPhone 7, could suggest that the demand for the newest iPhone is higher compared to last year.
The preliminary third-quarter revenue Dialog reported was up 5% year-over-year and 13% over the midpoint of Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha, as cited by Reuters.
Apple accounted for about 80 percent of Dialog’s revenue last year, making the chipmaker’s results a potential indicator of iPhone sales.
“We believe this is another confirming data point of stronger than expected iPhone demand, corroborating the U.S. carriers’ reports a few weeks ago,” Garcha wrote in a note to clients on Thursday.
In the light of falling iPhone sales, this info is quite important, since Apple has stopped sharing first-weekend sales of new iPhones, as it considers this is no longer a relevant metric. First-weekend sales were previously considered an important metric in measuring the success of the Apple handset.
Gartner says the smartphone segment will continue to grow, although there has been a noticeable slowdown compared to previous years. The market research company puts the total number of smartphone units shipped at 1.5 billion, which is not a surprise, as the market is maturing.
Gartner expects a weaker year-over-year volume performance from Apple in 2016, despite the launch of the iPhone 7.
