Submitted by Frank Macey on
AppleInsider predicts that Apple could wait until October or later to release the fifth-generation iPhone. Apparently the company has not ordered any parts for the iPhone 5 yet, making a summer launch unlikely. According to the report, the iPhone 5 will launch during the first half of Apple's 2012 fiscal year, which starts at the end of September.
Putting off the iPhone 5 until after the holiday retail season could cost Apple sales during a season when consumers are typically anxious to spend money on new gadgets. Rumors of a September iPhone 5 launch surfaced previously, however the iPad 2 did not get released over the summer as some had anticipated.
WWDC 2011 invitations are out, and they seem to corroborate news of an iPhone 5 delay. With the tag line "Join us for a preview of the future of iOS and Mac OS X," it sounds like the event will focus solely on software this time around. Apple has used the occasion to reveal iPhone hardware updates in the past. With the white iPhone 4 expected in April and the Verizon iPhone 4 relatively new to the market, Apple may need some time to focus on iPhone 5 design and manufacturing. As for iOS 5, the firmware will feature several cloud-based features and could also be delayed until the launch of the iPhone 5 hardware this fall.
When it comes to the iPhone 5 hardware, Apple has already started production trial runs of a prototype device. The new handset will feature a form factor similar to the iPhone 4, except the antenna will be redesigned and the glass back might be replaced with aluminum. Other reports have claimed the iPhone 5 will be completely redesigned to look more like the iPad 2 and iPod touch. This would involve a curved aluminum back and a front bezel available in both black and white.
This year's Apple WWDC (Worldwide Developer's Conference) will focus on iOS and the App Store as well as the upcoming release of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion for Apple's desktop computers. The event takes place June 6-10 in San Francisco.
Comments
Anonymous replied on Permalink
> More Reports of Delayed iPhone 5 Launch
How can you "delay" something that has no known release date in the first place????
I have no idea when something will happen... but it's delayed.
Huh?
Ben1230 replied on Permalink
Nitpick some?
Apple has launched every model of iPhone in June or July. Any change to that release cycle would be considered to be a delay by any reasonable person, especially by investors in Apple and companies that produce products related to the iPhone.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Such a waste of resources, anyway. iPhone 1 would have absolutely amazed people from just fifty, actually fifteen, years ago just as much as iPhone 5. Why don't they just put all the features on the first one? It's just stupid marketing for gullible people who need to have the absolute latest, newest thing just to have it.
ProudAppleFan replied on Permalink
In response to the person above, Apple would not have been able to pack all of today's features into the first iPhone for the reason that the technology was not invented yet! Same with computers, technology is always changing and once you buy a new computer and get it home it is already obsolete unless it is a Apple MacBook :) Also you gotta keep up with the competition, and if Apple were to not release a new phone every year they would fall behind! I will proudly continue to buy every new update from Apple not even looking back!!
Remy replied on Permalink
i am also agree with that
Anonymous replied on Permalink
"gullible"? Seriously? It's been decades since I got an allowance, dropping a few hundred bucks on a device I love and use daily does not equal gulliable. I like their products and I will buy each one released. Yea, i'm gullible.... Apple has really 'tricked me.'. Is the guy that makes seven figures equaly as gulliable as the barista at Starbucks....
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Companies do this all the time, including Apple, which is why they don't publish release dates ahead of time.
The iMacs were first released in August, then in January, and these days in May. I never heard anyone claim that one of these iMacs was "late" (or "early", in cases where it was less than a year).
As an Apple stockholder, I cannot imagine why anybody would have bet on the iPhone 5 shipping in June/July 2011. If you are making financial decisions about a company based on only 4 product models they produce, even though the company has produced hundreds (thousands?) of products with wildly varying release schedules, I think you get what you deserve.
Marci replied on Permalink
i love the design of this iphone 5 just great work
Anonymous replied on Permalink
So you're praising the design of a product which hasn't been announced, whose design is either the same as the old one or "completely redesigned"?