subject: IPhone 5 Production Starting In September According To Talks With Key Supplier [print this page] IPhone 5 Production Starting In September According To Talks With Key Supplier
Apple's new iPhone 5 should go into production in September says Avian Securities in a note this morning.
This suggests the iPhone won't be on the market until the end of this year, or even early next year possibly, says Avian.
Apple could also be developing a lower price/lower spec iPhone model, says Avian.
The report is based on conversations with a "key component supplier" to Apple.
Here's the full note:
"Supporting out comments over the last month, conversations with yet another key component supplier indicates that production for iPhone-5 will begin in September. This is consistent with Avian findings in the supply chain in recent months and we believe the consensus view is moving towards this scenario. In addition, our conversations also indicate the existence of a lower-spec/lower-priced iPhone in Apple's roadmap. However, while our contacts have seen the placeholder in the Apple roadmap, they do not yet have insight into specs or production timing. This leads us to believe that any launch is likely a very late 2011 or more likely a 2012 event. As a reminder, Avian has uncovered several data-points in recent months pointing to the existence of a lower-spec/lower-price iPhone. A lower-spec/lower-price iPhone has also been speculated in the press and gadget blogs, though we do not believe consensus currently discounts the existence of such a model."
Apple will not be releasing the iPhone 5 in June, Jim Dalrymple at The Loop reports.
Earlier today a rumor kicked up based on reporting out of Korea that Apple might host a special iPhone 5 event during the last week of June.
Dalyrmple's sources say the rumor is "completely false."
Don't Miss: The 10 Biggest Questions About Apple's iPhone 5
Apple is considering a cheaper iPhone to increase its marketshare, but what many people have been calling an iPhone "Nano" will not be physically smaller, according to a report by the Times.
We figured as much earlier, and it's what makes the most sense. A smaller iPhone would further fragment the iOS platform and require Apple to build an all new device, which is really complex. What would make sense instead would be an improved iPhone 5, and an "iPhone Nano" (or whatever it's called) which is really an iPhone 4 with less memory and maybe a lower resolution screen which can sell for cheap.
In any case, this shows that Apple is getting scared of Android. Going for cheap and mass volume is out of character for Apple. But Steve Jobs probably remembers the 80s well, when there was another platform war, and remembers that whichever platform attracts the most consumers and developers eventually wins. Google is undercutting the iPhone and gaining marketshare, so Apple needs to respond somehow.
