Ready for more unsourced rumors about the future of the iPhone next year? We’ve got them, but they’re a little thin.
Taiwanese-based DigiTimes is reporting that unnamed sources at Taiwanese component suppliers Foxconn and Pegatron have received orders to bump iPhone shipments next year from 19 million to between 20 and 21 million next year. That includes raising shipments up to 5 to 6 million CDMA iPhones, which are rumored to appear on Verizon (VZ) in the early part of 2011 in North America, and with China Telecom in Asia.
That’s up from the 15.5 million iPhone units DigiTimes says were shipped globally in the fourth quarter of 2010, helping to put the grand total of iPhones moved this year up to 47 million across the globe.
Where does that put the state of the iPhone? For one, China Unicom, the current exclusive iPhone-supporting carrier in China, is still struggling to meet demand for the device, after it was released in September. Apple (AAPL) seems to be responding to those concerns and probably increasing the number of units available here in the States as well.
If the rumors about the CDMA components prove to be true, it would appear that Apple is prepping for a big Verizon launch -- not exactly news, but it should mean that the company will be ready to meet demand of customers converting to the iOS device on the new carrier. Of course, that’s assuming we actually see a Verizon iPhone in the next few months.
