Foreign chipset suppliers have placed follow-up orders for chips to be used in iPhone 6 devices with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), extending order visibility of foundry houses to the first quarter of 2015, according to industry sources.

Some analog IC suppliers indicated that Apple aims to ship 80-100 million units of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2014, and initial response to the new iPhone devices seems to be enthusiastic and could gain momentum.

Apple has announced a record number of first day pre-orders for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with over four million in 24 hours.

Demand for the new iPhones exceeds initial pre-order supply and while a significant amount will be delivered to customers beginning September 19, many pre-orders are scheduled to be delivered in October, Apple said.

The follow-up orders will keep TSMC's 8-inch fabs at high utilization rates in the fourth quarter of 2014, and into the first quarter of 2015, said the sources.

Meanwhile, capacity utilization rates of TSMC's 12-inch fabs, which were expected to drift downward in the fourth quarter, will also maintain at high levels in the quarter due to a rebound in orders from chip suppliers, including Qualcomm and Broadcom, indicated the sources.