With Apple’s smartphone of the moment breaking all sales records and analysts continuously readjusting their forecasts to keep up with the trend, it seems Apple’s suppliers are having more difficulty keeping up.
With monthly iPhone sales heading for another high, and carriers like AT&T announcing their best results yet, thanks to the iPhone 4S; this has led to a familiar problem: apparently, there are not enough handsets to satisfy the demand.
Ashok Kumar, an analyst with Rodman & Renshaw, suggests in a recent report that Apple has been having problems with one of the iPhone 4S’ key components, which is why the stock shortages are affecting the market.
For now, UK customers seemed to be less affected, as the problem is more serious on the other side of the Atlantic; but with the Christmas coming, the iPhone 4S stock shortage will likely have a knock-on effect for Britons too.
In fact, Apple has had similar problems with supply following every iPhone launch, and analysts are starting to wonder whether this is somehow part of Apple’s strategy. As UK technology website 3G surmises, it is possible that “Apple limits stock to build anticipation and encourage early purchases.”
Strategy or not, industry observers  and analysts are predicting Apple’s quarterly iPhone sales will probably reach as high as 30 million units, smashing the previous record of just over 20 million.