'Unprecedented' Demand for Apple's iPhone 5, Says RBC Capital

After looking at the results of a ChangeWave survey carried out last month on 2,200 potential iPhone 5 buyers, RBC Capital analyst Mike Abramsky has issued a research note touting huge demand for Apple’s yet-unreleased smartphone.

Abramsky described the phenomenon as being “unprecedented”, and also noted “strong back-to-school iPad buying intentions,” in his note to investors.

Issued earlier today, the note highlights information from the ChangeWave survey to back Abramsky’s raised estimates on AAPL.

For example, according to the note (via Fortune), “31% of those surveyed said they were very/somewhat likely to buy the iPhone 5, significantly exceeding pre-launch iPhone 4 demand (25%).”

“With the iPhone 4 nearly 15 months old, 66% of existing iPhone users are very/somewhat likely to buy the iPhone 5, pointing to a large pending upgrade cycle,” Abramsky continued.

Those who roam the airwaves of operators that don’t carry the iPhone at the moment are less prone to switching.

Still, according to Abramsky’s note, “54% of surveyed Sprint subscribers and 53% of surveyed T-Mobile subscribers say they are significantly/somewhat more likely to buy the iPhone, if available.”

Finally, the analyst also looked at the tablet PC ecosystem and found that Apple’s iPad 2 was causing a bloodbath in the industry.

Based on the same ChangeWave survey, RBC Capital’s analyst said there is a strong iPad 2 back-to-school buying trend, with 26% very or somewhat likely to buy the second-generation post-PC device.

Some 85% of all tablet buyers allegedly plan to buy the iPad, up from 82% in February, according to the ChangeWave survey data.

It’s not just iDevices that are performing beautifully for Apple, but also Macs, according to a separate note by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster who is also raising his estimates on Apple.

Citing the latest data from NPD, which shows a 22 percent growth in Mac sales for the first two months of the September quarter, Munster said that Macs alone will account for 20% of Apple’s total revenue in Q3 2011. Get the full scoop here.