iPhone 7 sales may reach 100m in 2016 due to Note 7 recall: Analysts

Apple may sell up to 100 million iPhone 7s by the end of the year thanks to better-than-expected initial sales, likely a direct result of rival Samsung's recall of the Galaxy Note 7, South Korean analysts say.

Korean component vendors for Apple expected a volume of 80 million to 85 million units, but this has jumped by between 17-25 percent to over 100 million by the end of the year, said IBK Investment & Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo.

"The order to stop using the Galaxy Note 7 and continuous incidents of them exploding in the US likely have leaned US consumers towards the iPhone," said Lee, in a note to clients. "It is indisputable that the Galaxy Note 7 incident has become a huge plus for Apple."

Initial stocks of the iPhone 7s have sold out in the US, China, and the UK.

Kim Ji-san, analyst at Kiwoom Securities, predicts that the iPhone 7 will outsell the iPhone 6S. The latest phone was showing high popularity through online orders in the US and China.

iPhone 6 owners ready to change their phones after the expiration of their two-year contract and the Galaxy Note 7 recall have been the main driver of sales, Kim said.

Hi Investment & Securities analysts Song Eun-jeong said Apple will recover its top position in the high-premium smartphone market -- phones that cost over $600 -- thanks to the iPhone 7. US telcos are actively promoting the iPhone since the Note 7's recall, another boon, Song said.

LG Display, which supplies display panels to Apple, and LG InnoTek, which provides the dual-camera module, will directly benefit from the high sales, the analysts added.

Rival Samsung is to resume sales of the Galaxy Note 7 in the US on Wednesday.

Apple's stock price surged 11.4 percent last week thanks to the high popularity of the device.