This year's iPhone with a larger screen promises to be one of the hottest devices on retail shelves this fall, and it looks like Apple is eagerly licking its lips in anticipation. The Cupertino, California-based tech giant has put in a staggering order of between 70 million and 80 million units of iPhones this year, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Citing people familiar with the company's plans, the Wall Street Journal reported what will probably be one of Apple's most successful smartphone releases ever. Apple is expected to roll out two models of the iPhone 6: one with 4.7-inch display and another with a 5.5-inch screen. The production request tops last year's initial run of between 50 million and 60 million iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c units.

While an almost 50 percent increase in the size of the initial order might seem overzealous, many believe that the iPhone 6 release demands such attention. Both the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch variants are larger than any previous iPhone. The iPhone finally made it beyond 3-inch territory with the iPhone 5, which sports a 4-inch screen. The iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c also have 4-inch displays. 

"Our surveys also indicated growing consumer anticipation for new larger-screen iPhones," Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley said in a research note. "Based on our analysis of global iPhone sales by region, we believe consumers slowed the pace of iPhone upgrade purchases during the iPhone 5 and 5s product cycles. We believe the extended replacement rates combined with new larger-screen iPhones position Apple with its large installed base for record iPhone 6 sales."

Reports began surfacing last week that Apple would begin mass production of the iPhone 6 this month, but Foxconn and Pegatron Corp. will begin manufacturing the 4.7-inch model in August. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd., which operates under Foxconn's umbrella, meanwhile, will begin churning out the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 exclusively in September. Although there has been no official confirmation from Apple, sources have told Reuters that there might be some issues with the in-cell touch panel for the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 that could create delays.

"Production bottlenecks on 4.7-inch iPhone 6 center on the yield rate of in-cell touch panel and metal casing," KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a report. "As in-cell touch panel becomes larger in size, the edge of the panel may become insensitive to touch. Meanwhile, under new manufacturing process for the iPhone 6 metal casing, color unevenness is an issue."

Rumored iPhone 6 specs include a 64-bit 20-nanometer 2GHz dual-core A8 chip, 1GB RAM, and a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera. Apple should continue the tradition of housing the iPhone in a sleek metal casing and buyers will get treated to iOS 8, complete with its new bells and whistles, such as Health, right out of the box.

There could also be a couple differences between the 4.7-incher and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6. The larger one could feature a sapphire crystal display, optical image stabilization on the camera and a 128GB option alongside the 32GB and 64GB variants. Both sizes should also come in multiple colors.

Apple is expected to announce and release the iPhone 6 in the United States in September on Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile.  

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