14 DAY TRIAL // Shenzhen, China-based AAC Technologies Holdings is reportedly one of the suppliers for Apple's next-generation iPhone, according to the company’s chief financial officer himself.
Speaking to the press today, Richard Mok, chief financial officer of AAC Technologies, said his company is "ready" to ship components for Apple's next-generation iPhone, as well as the iPad 3.
The company is known to have begun shipping iPad 2 speakers last month.
According to reports, Mok said, “The quality and reliability of our products satisfy the requirements of Apple.”
“Naturally we have a good opportunity to supply them for their next-generation phone,” he reportedly added.
The next-generation iPhone, mostly referred to as iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S, is expected to arrive this month or in October, at the latest.
Reports aiming to pinpoint the technical specifications of the device are becoming more and more abundant lately, as if the entire industry knows what to expect this fall from Apple.
Although Apple has been rumored to enter the low-end cell phone market for years, it is only this year that so many analysts and pundits agree there’s a big chance it will happen.
Maybe not in the low-end market, but surely in the middle-class sector where it is becoming increasingly difficult to draw a clear line between smartphone and junk.
This is where Apple is said to consider throwing in the iPhone 4S, an incremental upgrade of the current hardware.
AAC has Apple to thank for driving more than 25 percent of the company's revenue in the first half of 2011.
First-half profits rose 33 percent to 509.3 million yuan ($80 million) for the supplier, compared to last year.
However, Apple isn’t AAC’s only client. The supplier also does business with Samsung and Nokia, both rivals of Apple in the smartphone market and, more recently, in the tablet-PC market as well.
It is worth pointing out that AAC's decision to freely speak to the press about its relationship with Apple amid an impending iPhone 5 launch may not have been the best move for the supplier.
Apple likes to keep a tight lid on all things surrounding its unconfirmed products, and goes to great lengths to protect its most solid business pillar - the iPhone.
The Cupertino mammoth well capable of canceling supplier contracts for such mouth shooting, even if it means delaying the iPhone 5 launch for a few weeks.