Ticonderoga: Aluminum iPhone 5 is happening, launch to ‘shatter' sales records

Despite rumors, leaks and punditry that now suggest a worst case scenario - no iPhone 5, just an iPhone 4S and an entry-level iPhone 4 - Apple will indeed unveil the mythical aluminum unibody iPhone 5 on Tuesday that will “shatter” Apple's previous smartphone sales records. In a note to investors on Monday, Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White wrote that Apple has a blockbuster in store for consumers this fall, with unprecedented demand that will result in Apple's biggest launch ever. Read on for more.

“We expect the iPhone 5 to get a makeover with a sleek, aluminum unibody enclosure that more closely resembles the MacBook Air than the iPhone 4, which will not only prove more aesthetically pleasing but also stronger, lighter and avoid the back-side “glass breaks” of last year,” White said. “With this new enclosure, we believe this will provide Apple with the opportunity to expand the display size by at least one half of an inch to 4 inches and hopefully bigger. Apple will clearly need to upgrade the processor speed to at least a Dual Core 1.2GHz to match the Samsung Galaxy S II, while upgrading to a 8 mega pixel 1080p camera that is now also on the Galaxy S II.”

The sleek new Apple smartphone will have consumers drooling like no iPhone before it, White believes, and the result will be astronomical opening weekend sales. “We believe Apple will benefit from pent up demand and will shatter the 1.7 million iPhone 4′s sold in the first three days last year,” the analyst stated. “Additionally, the iPhone is now sold to a record number of carriers (228 carriers at end of 3QFY11 vs. 154 at end of 3QFY10 during the iPhone 4 launch) and can operate on CDMA networks, and we believe China will play a more important role as well. We also expect Apple to be more aggressive in rolling out the iPhone 5 to international markets during this launch versus prior years, similar to what was experienced with the iPad 2.”

White reiterated his Buy rating on Apple stock with a price target of $666.