Ming-Chi Kuo: iPhone shipments up 54% last quarter, iPad shipments down 33.5%

Apple-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who toils for KGI Securities, has just sent out to clients his take on Apple's fiscal third quarter which ended last month. For the three month period, Kuo expects the tech titan to report that it shipped 54.2 million iPhones, 8.8 million iPads, and 3.9 million Apple Watches. The numbers reflect a gain of 54% for the iPhone, year-over-year. For the iPad, times remain difficult with a 33.5% decline expected from last year's fiscal third quarter.

Kuo sees iPhone shipments declining 26% sequentially in the current quarter, to 40.1 million units. He blames manufacturing issues with the Force Touch sensor that is expected to be part of the Apple iPhone 6s and Apple iPhone 6s Plus. The new models will ship during the last month of the quarter. The analyst also expects Apple to release a new version of the Apple iPad mini with a faster processor, and a thinner and lighter body. He says that the new tablet will help iPad shipments rise sequentially for the quarter, but he still expects to see a 28.3% decline year-over-year.

As for the Apple Watch, the analyst says that consumer response has been "tepid." However, opening new markets for the timepiece means that on a sequential basis, shipments will rise 41% to 5.5 million for the three months ending in September. For calendar 2015, Kuo sees Apple shipping a total of 15 million Apple Watches. He says that the company might try to revive interest in the wearable by offering a new Apple Watch Sport model made of aluminum and coated with yellow or rose gold.

Apple is reporting its third fiscal quarter report this Tuesday, July 21st, after the close of U.S. markets.

source: AppleInsider