Industry news

Apple has increased its part and component orders for iPhone 7 devices, with order visibility for the fourth quarter of 2016 to be 20-30% higher than expected, according to sources from Taiwan-based touch panel makers.

Touch panel makers TPK Holding and General Interface Solution (GIS) shared the touch panel orders for iPhone 7 devices previously, but Apple appeared to have pulled in more orders from GIS recently, the sources noted.

GIS, a subsidiary of Foxconn Electronics, is expected to see its revenues grow significantly in the fourth quarter, the sources added. However, TPK said that touch panel orders from its major clients for the fourth quarter have not been fixed completely, and some adjustments may be made later.

Shipments of the iPhone 7 devices from ODMs are expected to reach 80-84 million units in the second half of 2016, compared to 85-90 million iPhone 6s shipped in the latter half of 2015, estimated the sources.