A woman looks at the screen of her mobile phone in front of an Apple logo outside its store in downtown Shanghai September 10, 2013.
A woman looks at the screen of her mobile phone in front of an Apple logo outside its store in downtown Shanghai September 10, 2013. Reuters

The iPhone 6S release date this 2015 could prove an epic year for Apple (AAPL) as a new report said that the tech giant will ship out some 230 million freshly-minted iPhones, bannered by the upcoming model. The numbers will exceed the 190-plus million units cleared out in 2014, the year the iPhone 6 was unboxed.

Taiwanese publication DigiTimes is claiming in a new report that global smartphone shipments will spike this 2015 with Apple as one of the leading brands to capitalise. From the 193 million iPhones that the U.S.-based firm had delivered to consumer hands last year, the figures will further jump and will breach the 200 million mark.

In 2014, the company was boosted by the overhauled iPhone 6 and its phablet twin – the iPhone 6S Plus. In a separate report by the Asian news site, China will play a huge role as Apple will more than replicate its record performance last year.

“Sales of Apple's iPhone 6 have been strong particularly in China driving growth in the smartphone's shipments,” DigiTimes reported. And it is assumed that Apple will repeat history, in fact more than improving its 2014 showing by the end of the year.

Top of the game

Apple’s total shipment figures in 2015 will only be eclipsed by its long-time rival, Samsung, which the report said will push out 330 million smartphones supposedly riding on the wave of excitement generated by the new flagships Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. It should be noted, however, that Samsung, unlike Apple, sell devices in the entry-level, mid-range and high-end tiers so the overall profit that the South Korean firm pockets by the end of the year is not necessarily higher compared to Apple.

In the past two years, Samsung has been witnessing a shrinking cash hauls from its mobile division and the Galaxy S4 and S5 were deemed as disappointments. On the other hand, Apple continues on its upward trajectory – its rousing success highlighted by the redesigned iPhone 6 and the supersized iPhone 6 Plus. Both devices practically waylaid the competition in 2014, underscored by the 74.5 million units that smartphone buyers had scooped in the last three months of the year.

In terms of total unit ship outs, DigiTimes reported that Android will remain the dominant system with 70 per cent of bite of the whole pie. Apple will gobble down most of the balance, securing at the same time most of the profit at stake with only Samsung as its distant opponent.

While there are unconfirmed reports that volume production of the next iPhone is set to start May or June this year, the iPhone 6S release date is not expected until the last few months of 2015. The earliest possible touchdown is between September and October.

To report problems or leave feedback on this article, email: r.pineda@ibtimes.com.au.

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