Apple Expects 5G Demand to Drive 100 Million iPhone 12 Sales in 2020: Digitimes

Apple expects to be able to sell more than 100 million iPhone 12 units in 2020.

Citing Apple’s supply chain partners, Digitimes says that Apple has told them that it will need more than 100 million iPhone 12 handsets for 2020, up from the 80 million iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models that were required previously.

Little is known about what iPhone 12 will offer but 5G connectivity is expected to be a driving force behind huge demand in 2020, according to the report. While faster network speeds will be popular among buyers, the new iPhone refresh is also expected to see more design changes than in previous years. And iPhone sales do tend to increase following an external redesign.

Recent iPhone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone 11 designs have all followed a very similar theme but iPhone 12 is thought to have a new, iPhone 4-like design in the works. Slab sides will look similar to the current iPad Pro, hopefully making the phone less prone to being dropped.

With no 5G infrastructure in Apple’s key domestic market and current handsets with 5G suffering issues like overheating and fast battery rundown, Apple hasn’t been in a rush to jump on the 5G bandwagon. Qualcomm is said to be making the “most advanced” 5G chips available for the next-generation iPhone.