Will Apple Give Us Two New iPhones In September?
June 27, 2011
The new week has arrived with plenty of iPhone 5 speculation. This includes one story suggesting that Apple may actually release two new iPhones later this year.
First, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, after a visit to Taiwan, has concluded Apple will begin assembling the next generation iPhone sometimes “in mid to late August.” Huberty recently met with unnamed individuals near or around Apple’s supply chain and manufacturing facilities and hence, the reason for her speculation.
If this news is correct, the iPhone 5 would probably be made available to the general public sometime in late September, according to Forbes.
Meanwhile, in perhaps the most interesting news of the day, Fortune is reporting Apple may actually release two new iPhones in September. This is based on the opinion of Deutsche Bank’s Chris Whitmore who recently conveyed this view to clients.
The first handset, let’s call it an iPhone 4S, would come unlocked, “priced around $349, and comes with a pre-paid voice plan.”
Accordingly, this would:
“"Drive significantly greater penetration" into an addressable market that has grown to include 1.5 billion potential customers in 98 countries, two thirds of whom prefer pre-paid plans.”The second handset would be a full-blown iPhone 5 with all its new bells and whistles. Both of these reports don’t uncover anything new in terms of iPhone 5 rumors. After all, we’ve been discussing a September timeframe for a new handset for a while now. We’ve also heard some rumors about an “iPhone 4S” too. Plus, both points presented today make a lot of sense. First, September is almost certainly the month the iPhone 5 will be announced assuming Apple wants a 2011 release date. The month is traditionally the start of the long holiday shopping season and Apple knows this. After all, September is when Apple normally unveils its new line of iPods with holiday sales in mind. Second, releasing an iPhone 4S makes a lot of sense as well. This would go over quite well in countries where pre-paid plans are especially popular and help expand Apple's global market. Of course, nothing becomes official until Apple tells us it does. Therefore, keep in mind, these are only rumors. As a reminder, we have a great iPhone 5 rumors roundup that we’re keeping up to date for those interested in more details. Make sure to check it out. Thoughts? [Photo: An iPhone 5 mockup from DigitalTrends.]