With the Apple press conference at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center on September 12 still a hot topic with CEO Tim Cook debut the new iPhone 5, research firm IHS iSuppli predicts the arrival of the iPhone 5 will spur a rebound in Apple’s smartphone shipments in the third and fourth quarters following a decline in the second quarter. Apple in the second quarter suffered a 26 percent drop in shipments to 26 million units, down from 35 million in the first quarter.

“Apple’s smartphone shipments typically are weak during the quarter preceding the launch of a new iPhone model,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst, wireless communications, for IHS. “Buyers historically have delayed their purchases until the newest model is available. Then they rush out to get the latest and greatest version once it’s being sold, leading to a spike in demand. IHS predicts the same pattern will occur with the iPhone 5.”

Apple’s decline contributed to a 1 percent contraction in the overall global smartphone market in the second quarter to 135 million units, down from 137 million in the first quarter. The arrival of the iPhone 5 will help the global smartphone market return to growth with projected shipments of 346.5 million in the second half of 2012, up from 272.3 million during the first six months of the year, as presented in Figure 1 attached.