As newly claimed by PiperJaffray, 28nm chip supply issues at Qualcomm aren’t likely to prevent Apple from launching its sixth-generation iPhone. The baseband for the device is widely anticipated to be provided by Qualcomm. Both the iPhone 4S and new iPad incorporate the company’s cellular chips. Last month, Gene Munster that Qualcomm’s 28nm chip shortages wouldn’t allow Apple to release the new handset any earlier than October.
The investment bank estimates an 80% chance that the tech giant will sell 49 million iPhones in the last quarter of this year. Even if supply issues did affect Apple, it would simply shift iPhone sales into the first quarter of 2013 and beyond, Munster believes. On his opinion, consumers are unlikely to opt for another phone if they have to wait for a short period of time until Apple deals with supply constraints, based on past released with limited inventory.
On Monday, PiperJaffray reiterated its $910 price target for Apple. Given this, Apple’s “favored inventory status” would soften the harm from any manufacture woes experienced by Qualcomm. The bank also refers to the company’s past experience in handling limited supply of components at launch as reason to believe Apple will stay comparatively immune to the shortage.
In his recent investor note, Munster also suggested that the company would redesign the iPhone 5 to make it more similar to the metal rear panel of the third-gen iPad. According to him, there is a 50% chance that the sixth iPhone will feature a display larger than 4 inches. In addition, the analyst says, the new device will sport an upgraded CPU, a higher megapixel camera and improved memory, as well as LTE support.
