A report by DigiTimes claims that Apple's supply chain Cupertino told the company that production rates are improving on a "weekly basis", which is a good sign for Apple. Due to this news, the company has been able to send out the new phones at a faster rate than ever before.
Apple also expanded their estimated sales figure for the quarter by five million phones because of the news, meaning they expect to "easily reach" the 45 million mark by the end of this month.
"Since some chipset suppliers have revealed that their sales are likely to reach the ceilings of their fourth-quarter guidance, there should be no problem for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to also reach its sales target of US$4.5 billion set for the quarter," said DigiTimes in an article about the new sales figures.
When the phone was released this September, at one point Apple had no idea when customers could expect their phones to be delivered. Due to the production news however, Apple was able to announce this week that shipping delays for the iPhone 5 has been reduced from 4 to 6 weeks to two to four business days.
The company also released a new YouTube app this week, due to complaints from customers who had issues with the previous one released three months ago according to a report by CBS. The app now works on three different sized screens, and will be easily accessible not just for the iPhone 5 but for newer iPod Touch and iPad models.
Apple may be benefiting due to the holiday season as the iPhone 5 is in the top ten most wanted gifts for children under the age of 13 and in the top five for those who are 13 and older.
It will be a huge test for Apple if they are able to keep up their current sales pace however, and most experts don't think they'll be able to. Some feel that Apple could see a 20 percent dip in sales numbers for Apple products as a whole, which may force the company to release new products like the rumored iPhone 5S and iPad mini 2 earlier than expected.