NEW YORK — Analysts predict that Apple will sell nearly 30 million iPhones in the last quarter of 2011.
The numbers were ticked up from 28 million originally forecast by investment bank UBS analyst Maynard Um and other experts who agree on the continued strength and demand of the handset.
AT&T also announced that it expects its best smartphone quarter ever due largely to iPhone sales.
And holiday sales are also expected to bump iPhone sales.
Analyst Shaw Wu of Sterne Agee raised his forecast for iPhone sales to 28 million based on his study of Apple's global supply chain that he sees as remaining healthy across the board including the older iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS.
J.P. Morgan analysts joined Wu’s assessment of 28 million in iPhone sales.
According to Ticonderoga Securities' Brian White, Apple had its best November ever based on demand and his "Apple Barometer" index of the company's Taiwan-based suppliers jumped an impressive 17 percent month over month, considering average sequential growth for the past six years has stood at 2 percent.
iPhone 4S sales got off to a record start after Apple sold 4 million units in its first three days of availability, more than double the amount of last year's iPhone 4 launch, according to reports.
Apple’s iPad is expected to sell nearly 12-13 million units in the fourth quarter and 5.4 million Macs.