While pull-in orders for the first wave of iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c are expected to reach a peak in the 2013 year-end holiday season, parts and components orders for the two new Apple smartphone models for the first quarter of 2014 remain unclear, according to sources in iPhone supply chain.

　　Initial sales of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in the end-device market are likely to meet Apple's expectations, reaching 44-46 million units in the fourth quarter of 2014, the sources indicated.

　　Despite strong sales in the current quarter, makers in the supply chain have not yet received follow-up orders from Apple, revealed the sources, adding that shipments of parts and components are likely to lose their momentum in the first quarter of 2014 and will eventually suffer a decline of 10-20% sequentially.

　　However, shipments of the new iPhones may continue to set records in 2014 if Apple is able to ink an agreement with China Mobile for distributing the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in China, where China Mobile has a total subscribers of over 700 million, the sources noted.

　　Apple has been able to sell slightly over 20 million iPhone 5 smartphones through cooperation with China Telecom and China Unicom, but an estimated 60 million units of iPhone 5 are using China Mobile's networks, the sources said.

　　Signing a distribution pact with China Mobile will help Apple maintain its sales momentum, while further expanding its market share, commented the sources.