According to a new report on Monday, July 23, a research firm has found that anticipation and advance demand for Apple's next-generation iPhone is higher than ever. The firm predicted huge sales this year for what will presumably be called the "iPhone 5."

ChangeWave conducted a survey on more than 4,000 North American consumers and found a record enthusiasm for Apple's next smartphone, expected to arrive this fall. Nearly a third of the people surveyed said they were likely to buy the new iPhone. "Advance demand for the 'iPhone 5' is strikingly higher than we've seen for any previous iPhone model," said Paul Carton, vice president of research at ChangeWave.

The research firm described the next-generation iPhone in broad terms, incorporating the recent rumors indicating a larger display and LTE capabilities, as well as the speculation that it will be powered by Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 6. According to the survey, 14 percent of the people polled said they were "very likely" to buy the new iPhone, while 17 percent said they were "somewhat likely."

A 31 percent total of the people surveyed said they were likely to buy the new iPhone, which is 44 percent higher than the 21.5 percent who said they were likely to buy the iPhone 4S last year, when ChangeWave conducted a similar survey ahead of the smartphone's launch.

"The biggest finding of the survey is the unprecedented level of advance demand for the next generation Apple iPhone, which based on these survey numbers easily dwarfs the advance demand of any previous iPhone launch," added Carton.

Apple has sold a whopping 72.1 million iPhones in the two quarters reported since the iPhone 4s launch on Oct. 4, 2011, marking its best-ever six-month results. The figure, however, covers all iPhone iterations, as the company does not disclose individual iPhone model sales. Apple is now set to post its second-quarter sales figures Tuesday, July 24, during an earnings call with Wall Street analysts.

ChangeWave also asked for consumers' opinion on the new Samsung Galaxy S3 flagship smartphone, which went on sale last month. Two percent of the people polled said they were very likely to buy a Samsung Galaxy S3 "in the near future," while another seven percent asserted they were somewhat likely to do so. The top reason consumers said they would buy Samsung's flagship smartphone was the size and quality of the display, said Carton.

Apple has not yet revealed when it the next-generation iPhone will arrive, nor whether it will be called the iPhone 5 or bear some other name. The company unveiled the iPhone 4S (which people expected to be the iPhone 5) on Oct. 4, 2011, and started selling it on Oct. 14.