Apple launching iPhone 5S and another cheaper model: Report

Consumers will get to lay their hands on the new Samsung Galaxy S4 anytime now. Specs-wise, I must admit it is very impressive and I might be tempted to change side. Maybe.

In a bid to increase the company's market share and to catch up with Android-based mobile phone sales, Apple is said to be launching 2 new models of its flagship iPhone, one of which is dubbed iPhone 5S.

Apple is set to launch its next flagship smartphone this summer: Wall Street Journal

As at end-February 2013, Android-based phones dominates the market with more than half of the share, at least in the US:

Android smartphone sales  : 51.2%
Apple iPhone                    : 43.5%
Windows phones              : 4.1%
BlackBerry                       : 0.7%


Apple launching two iPhones this summer

A report in the Wall Street Journal claims that production of the next iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 5S, has already begun in time for its official unveiling this summer and that it will be joined by a cheaper version of the smartphone in order to increase the company's existing market share.

Rumours about both devices have been flying around since the end of 2012. However, when something appears in the Wall Street Journal or Bloomberg, it is taken seriously because, as well as a reputation for secrecy, Apple also has a reputation for 'leaking' stories to those two papers.

Unsurprisingly, unnamed sources reported in the article appear to confirm stories that first started circulating at the beginning of 2013 that suggested the next iPhone would simply be an incremental update of the existing flagship, but that it would be joined by a cheaper model - likened in appearance to an iPod Classic - aimed at emerging markets where Apple's premium price is still a hurdle to growing market share.

News that the next handset will be an incremental improvement will no doubt disappoint any number of analysts and investors who have been calling for the company to innovate for the past 12 months and in the process have driven the company's share price down by more than 50%. In particular, Forrester CEO George Colony will feel very let down.

Despite admitting that he knows very little about the technological mastery involved in achieving such a goal, he took to his Counterintuitive CEO blog this week and, within a post entitled "Apple's Foldable Future," called on Apple to make a seamless folding iPhone that opened out into a paper-thin widescreen tablet and that had a full-body screen without a bezel. - ©AFP/Relaxnews 2013

Source: TechCentral


TheGreenMechanics: More choices for consumers and hopefully cheaper, too.

The new iPhone (iPhone 5) is almost here

That's September 12.

And the Cupertino electronic giant is suggesting it will finally be a "5". Many expected the 4S to be a much redefined iteration when it was announced late last year, only to be (disappointed, are you?) with the same '4' with dual-core processor, a Siri and a better camera (8MP) as additional features to the squarish slab.

Today is September 11, so, That's tomorrow!

☺ UPDATES, UPDATES: ☺ 
1) Now that the iPhone 5 is here. Should you upgrade from iPhone 4S?
2) iPhone 5 prices in Malaysia?


No doubt the new iPhone 5 would catapult Apple sales but for now let's see some statistics for crunch. In the tablet market the iPad is still the king. But in the smartphone business, Samsung mobile phones remained the most popular in the US with 25.6% of the market (as at the end of July):

Samsung    - 25.6%
LG             - 18.4%
Apple         - 16.3%

Smartphones powered by Google's Android software continued to dominate the US market and elsewhere in the world. This is a case of 'open-source' Android versus propriety iOS system:

Android     - 52.2% (US market)
iOS           - 33.4%
Others      - 14.4% (Windows, Syambian, etc)

The iPhone progression: Nothing much has changed.

In order to achieve the much-talked 4" display, the iPhone 5 is said to become longer but no change in the width. How ugly could that be? But wait. The iPhone is always full of surprises. Let's see tomorrow if it is a pleasant one.

For now I am a happy user of the 4S.

New iPhone (iPhone 5) to debut on September 12, 2012

If you have been waiting for the next iteration of the iPhone, mark your calender on September 12 and tune in to the online news.

Image grab from Bloomberg Businessweek headlines video on July 31. Businessweek believes it has some details of the next iPhone.


According to iMore, Apple is planning to debut the new iPhone (iPhone 5 or whatever they decide to call it later) on September 12, 2012, and to be followed by its release on September 21. This would mean that the current iPhone 4S would have been in the market for less than a year by the time the next generation is announced.

My source for mostly accurate information of Apple products, The Loop gave its 'yep' to the piece of news. This information comes from sources who have proven accurate in the past. The website owner, Jim Dalrymple was at the event in California when the iPhone 4S was announced last year.

Details, according to Bloomberg Businessweek include:

• Larger screen                                (current iPhone 4S screen is 3.5")
• Thinner body                                 ( iPhone 4S is 9.3mm)
• Works with the faster 4G network    (iPhone 4S is on 3G)
• First new major design since 2010

Really, this is nothing like the details that people want to hear but at least it is something that is sure to be included in the new gadget.

We have been hearing that the new iPhone is likely to spot a 4-inch display, with a 16:9 screen version, and that newer iOS devices will have smaller dock connector. Rumour has been circulating around for a while now that that SIM card would shrink further from the current 'micro' size.

It seems that Apple is planning to squeeze quite a lot of things into the new gadget. But for the iDevice fans, they'd surely hope this iteration is not just to keep up with Samsung S3, but to set the bar higher.

iPhone 4S is just about 11 months in the market and I am one of the earlier buyers of this version, so, I'm not really looking at upgrading to iPhone 5 just yet. But we'll see; hopefully Tim Cook and his team come up with some surprises up their sleeves.

iPhone 5 Announcement, finally!

.

October 4, 2011 @10.00am California

It'll actually be less than a week now for the official announcement of the new iPhone, shall I say, iPhone 5.

I was browsing through The iPhone 5 News Blog for my daily dose of news about iPhone today and was pleasantly surprised - or, should we be surprised anymore after the long wait - to read the headlines.

So, it's official. The Loop's Jim Dalrymple reported that he has been invited for the announcement as follows: "Let's Talk iPhone" October 4 at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif. campus. The event begin at 10:00 am PT.

Screen shot of The Loop's posting using my handset

Jim said he will be at the event, and will bring a live update of the announcements as they happen.

So let tune in to The Loop this Tuesday and get to hear it first hand; well almost.