Shares of mobile phone supply chain companies saw collective gains. At the time of writing, FIT HON TENG (06088) rose 11.47% to HK$10.4; AAC TECH (02018) increased 8.74% to HK$42.3; SUNNY OPTICAL (02382) was up 3.39% at HK$65.65; and Q TECH (01478) climbed 2.51% to HK$8.98.

The uptick follows a recent report from Citigroup, which indicated that Apple has raised its overall iPhone production plan for the first three quarters of fiscal year 2026 to 163 million units. This represents an approximate 10% year-on-year increase, with the primary volume growth attributed to the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models. Concurrently, the Q2 single-quarter iPhone production target has been set at 63 million units, marking a 31% year-on-year rise, reflecting stronger-than-anticipated end-market demand.

Driven by Apple's latest upward revision to its iPhone procurement schedule and an improvement in Chinese market demand, core hardware supply chains are poised to benefit from dual catalysts: inventory replenishment and valuation recovery.

In a separate development, OpenAI is reportedly accelerating its inaugural AI agent smartphone project. Mass production, originally slated for 2028, could now be brought forward to the first half of 2027. One potential reason for this expedited timeline is to align with OpenAI's planned IPO by the end of this year. If progress remains on track, the combined shipment volume for this device is projected to reach approximately 30 million units across 2027 and 2028.