Apple's iPhone range 'is stalling' The survey, by IHS iSuppli, reveals there is still strong consumer demand for hi-tech mobile phones, but that Apple is coming under increasing pressure. "Apple's iPhone franchise appears to be stalling as first-quarter shipments of 37.4m fell below expectations," the report stated. With the next iPhone model not expected until the second half of the year, there is a real possibility that the full-year 2013 sales volume of the iPhone may be essentially flat at around 150m units, compared with 134m units in 2012. IHS analyst Wayne Liam said the number of new handsets - such as the HTC One and updated Samsung Galaxy S4 - coming to market this year "has been astounding." "The possible slowing growth of the iPhone and the rapid pace of competitive smartphone releases speak to the ferocious nature of the handset business," he added. Meanwhile, more than half a billion people in China now use the internet, with 464m doing so wirelessly via smartphones and tablets. The China Internet Network Information Centre put the total number of users at 591m, up 10pc on 2012.