Report: Apple expects iPhone 12 to shift more than 100m units in 2020

iPhone 11 Pro (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Apple reportedly expects iPhone 12 to sell in huge numbers.
More than 100 million units are being predicted.
The inclusion of 5G connectivity is expected to be the driving force.

Apple is forecasting that it will need more than 100 million iPhone 12 units from its supply chain partners according to a new report. That report comes from the notirously unreliable DigiTimes (via 9to5Mac), however.

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.

DigiTimes says that its report is based on forecasts that Apple has provided to the supply chain in order to allow them to get their ducks in a row for next year. However, with iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro expected to sell a combined 80 million units, the jump to north of 100 million does seem excessive. Is 5G demand really that high? No iPhone currently offers 5G but that doesn't seem to be preventing them from selling.

It isn't yet clear whether the inclusion of 5G support will see iPhone sales driven higher, as has been the case with 5G versions of Android phones so far. Given Apple's reduction of the starting price for iPhones in 2019, an increase in 2020 would be difficult for many to stomach.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.