iPhone 5S Reportedly Slated for March Production with June/July Launch

[MacRumors]

Following up on his report from last month, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek has released a new research report indicating that Apple's iPhone 5S is still in line for a launch in June or July of this year, with production beginning to ramp up in March.

Our checks indicate that preliminary builds for the iPhone 5S will start in March for a launch in June/July. As word of the earlier production schedule starts to spread, we believe we could see a slight slowing of demand CQ1 in anticipation of the new product launch and Apple will likely start curtailing channel inventory.

Misek notes that he has been seeing signs of two iPhone 5S prototypes currently in testing, although one could be the cheaper iPhone that has been the subject of a number of rumors in recent weeks. On the topic of that cheaper iPhone, Misek says that the device "looks close to being greenlit or may already have been" and offers some "likely specs" in order to help bring Apple's costs down:

Similar to the iPad mini, we expect a concentrated low-cost iPhone rather than a "cheap" one. Likely specs: polycarbonite case with 4" non-Retina display and no LTE. We believe a new low-cost iPhone would increase Apple's share, decrease [gross margins], but have little impact on [earnings per share].

Misek also directly addresses the iPhone with a 4.8-inch display mentioned in his earlier report, now saying that he is seeing no further signs of the device. He suggests that the form factor is for the iPhone 6 further down the road, but we remain skeptical about the likelihood of Apple making yet another change to the iPhone's resolution even two generations removed from the iPhone 5.

Finally, Misek comments on recent reports that Apple has slashed component orders for the iPhone 5 nearly in half in the first quarter due to "weaker-than-expected demand". Like a number of analysts, Misek casts significant doubt on the reasons for the dire claims, suggesting that lowered component orders are largely driven by an assembly bottleneck that has resulted in oversupply of components and projected ramping down of production leading into the iPhone 5S.

The original reports from Nikkei and The Wall Street Journal drew suspicion for their claims that Apple was planning to build 65 million iPhones this quarter before slashing its orders, an unrealistically high number considering expectations for sales in the range of 50 million units in the holiday quarter that coincided with the device's launch in most markets. The Wall Street Journal quickly removed the specific 65-million figure from its report, but uncertainty about the sourcing and accuracy of the associated claims persists.

Article Link: iPhone 5S Reportedly Slated for March Production with June/July Launch

[MMOTotal]

So it begins...

iOS 7 is still the thing to watch out for however (for me at least)

[8281]

Originally Posted by MMOTotal

So it begins...

iOS 7 is still the thing to watch out for however (for me at least)

Yeah, I'm more interested in software innovation than hardware. I get excited after every new iOS device and then realize it's basically the same since the OS hasn't changed in any substantial way for years now.

[FSMBP]

That means we will have iOS 7 sooner than later! (Based off history that a new version of iOS is released when the new iPhone is released).

[Ryth]

Originally Posted by FSMBP

That means we will have iOS 7 sooner than later! (Based off history that a new version of iOS is released when the new iPhone is released).

Maybe...maybe not. Depends on if they preview it only or plan on releasing it before the 6. Considering it's going to be a new OS completely with Ive design...I think you might see a separate event for it.

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Originally Posted by simplemind

I have been an iPhone user since the 3g, and the 5 was the first time where I did not have the "I've got to have that!" mystique. As a matter of fact, I am done with the iPhone. I just don't give a rip that the iPhone 5 is perfectly put together from 200 possible pieces, what I care about is functionality. I will toss the dice on the Galaxy S4 for a while (when that comes out)

There just seems to be nothing innovating coming out of Cupertino as of late. I am pissed that they dropped the 17" MBP and even more pissed that they decided to make the current generation of MBP, non user upgradable. I sure hope that when my '09 17" MBP dies that they will still have 17" refurbs because I don't want to have to move back to Windows, but I refuse to be shackled to a 15" laptop.

On a positive note for Apple, I really like the new iMac's, sleek and sexy... to bad I can't say that about anything else they have currently.

Many of us refuse to be shacked to that boat anchor... known as the 17" MBP.

[melendezest]

Originally Posted by Ryth

Maybe...maybe not. Depends on if they preview it only or plan on releasing it before the 6. Considering it's going to be a new OS completely with Ive design...I think you might see a separate event for it.

----------



Many of us refuse to be shacked to that boat anchor... known as the 17" MBP.

Good for you.

But it was such a beautiful, speedy, upgrade-able boat anchor that I want my shackles back!

[Krauser]

Originally Posted by Ryth

Many of us refuse to be shacked to that boat anchor... known as the 17" MBP.

You're missing an important aspect of this. If Apple discontinues the 17", which they did, many professionals who utilized that form factor are shackled to HAVING to use a 15" laptop when they NEED to upgrade their machines and Apple does not offer a 17" option. If they DO offer a 17", how are you SHACKLED to that model? Nobody forces you to buy that over the 15" model, which they would obviously still make.

Your logic is tragically flawed my friend...

[MacRumorUser]

Originally Posted by FSMBP

That means we will have iOS 7 sooner than later! (Based off history that a new version of iOS is released when the new iPhone is released).

Which is not necesserily a good thing...

Apple Maps rushed to replace google Maps in iOS 6 being an example.


Apple need to impress with iOS 7. Another maps disaster and they will be handing Blackberry introducing BB10 soon a lot of wiggle room, and the people moving to Android or have moved to android won't think about moving back to iOS..


As for iPhone 5S , other than maybe a redesigned shell so less issues regarding scratches, I'm not sure a faster CPU in the iPhone 5S will be much of a seller. No one is complaining about the iPhone 5 being slow, its as fast as the best phones out there, all the issues are related to the casing and iOS 6 (and its now over familiarity).

They also need to address the price of the iPhone. One of the mst compelling persuaders for consumers to move to the SGS3 and kin this generation was the fact it was often free on most carriers 24 month contracts. Whilst the iPhone 5 was nearly €300 on the cheapest (€35-45) 24 month contracts.

People (the mass - not apple loyalists) loved their 'smartphones' not necesserily the iPhone. Due an upgrade and faced with SGS3 for free or €300 for an iPhone 5 is it any surprise the SGS3 has done so well.

Cost and Android finally becoming a decent, viable and stable OS with ICS and Jelly Bean for the masses were also contributors, alongside some really good marketing by Samsung.

Apple pricing for unsubsidised phones with the iPhone 5 is just off the scale compared to competition, and even in comparison to previous iPhones.

[KdParker]

That will work for me.

Guess the 5s will not have any major upgrades.

[jasonxneo]

[Madhawk]

Here we go

[johndoejohndoes]

If there's no innovation this stock will continue to nose dive.

I love my Apple products but I'm hatting AAPL as a stock right now

[unobtainium]

Originally Posted by johndoejohndoes

If there's no innovation this stock will continue to nose dive.

I love my Apple products but I'm hatting AAPL as a stock right now

There's that overused innovation word again. Do you just mean "new stuff"? Not all new features are "innovative." I really don't think there's been anything truly "innovative" in cellphones since the launch of the original iphone in 2007.

[johngordon]

Originally Posted by unobtainium

There's that overused innovation word again. Do you just mean "new stuff"? Not all new features are "innovative." I really don't think there's been anything truly "innovative" in cellphones since the launch of the original iphone in 2007.

Exactly.

Back in the day we had bricks for mobile phones. They got smaller, but had crappy little grey screens. Eventually we had WAP. We've got to the point now where smart phones have amazing full colour touch screens, are incredibly intuitive to use, can do incredible things, can get online pretty much anywhere, and are lightning fast.

As time goes on there's a lot less room for innovation I think.

A lot of people talk about innovation, but pinning down actual features people want is more difficult.

The top three things missing from the iphone I tend to see mentioned are:

1. NFC - I guess it could be useful, but at the moment it doesn't really seem to have caught on much, and arguably still isn't secure enough. Although possibly has uses around a home for some people.

2. Widgets - as long as I can have up to 324 apps available within two taps, they only seem to offer marginal benefit.

3. Wireless charging - putting the phone onto a mat rather than on a dock doesn't seem much more than novelty to me. Although they probably would be useful in cars.

As for innovations around the corner, not in any phone yet, what sort of things do people have in mind?

Someone earlier mentioned 4k screens in phones, but I thought they were being sarcastic.

Any increase in resolution (with all other screen specs remaining equal) isn't innovation, and would only offer an incredibly marginal benefit to a very small number of users.

Which isn't to say that screen quality can't be improved, as the iPhone 5 has shown.

[SeattleMoose]

Originally Posted by johndoejohndoes

If there's no innovation this stock will continue to nose dive.

I love my Apple products but I'm hatting AAPL as a stock right now

Does the same apply to SamSung/Google stock? They seem to be better at taking other people's ideas as opposed to inventing their own products.

Eric Schmidt sat on Apple's board during iphone/iOS development and and then quit suddenly...so he could "invent" android OS and work with SamSung to "invent" android smart phones. If that isn't the definition of a "snake in the grass" I don't know what is. And of course Android/Google gets only good press while Apple is attacked daily by the media.

We appear to live in a world where the real "innovators" are the "bad guys" and the copy cats are the "good guys".

So where is the incentive to innovate if everyone keeps stealing your stuff and when you try to protect yourself, you are the "bad guy".....

[coolspot18]

Originally Posted by SeattleMoose

We appear to live in a world where the real "innovators" are the "bad guys" and the copy cats are the "good guys"..

Steve Jobs: Good artists copy great artists steal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0DUg63lqU

Steve Jobs was shameless with stealing ideas.

[slrandall]

Originally Posted by johndoejohndoes

If there's no innovation this stock will continue to nose dive.

I love my Apple products but I'm hatting AAPL as a stock right now

Honestly, the iPhone hardware design has never been an issue for me. I don't care as much about improvements in that arena, because the hardware really is top-notch already.

iOS 7 on the other hand; that better be a HUGE leap in innovation. It's really gotten a bit stale the past few years. I mean, "Do Not Disturb" was a headlining feature is iOS 6. Come on.

[lazard]

Originally Posted by slrandall

iOS 7 on the other hand; that better be a HUGE leap in innovation. It's really gotten a bit stale the past few years. I mean, "Do Not Disturb" was a headlining feature is iOS 6. Come on.

you forgot to mention the immensely popular Apple Maps.

[clukas]

Originally Posted by slrandall

iOS 7 on the other hand; that better be a HUGE leap in innovation. It's really gotten a bit stale the past few years. I mean, "Do Not Disturb" was a headlining feature is iOS 6. Come on.

With jony Ive leading software design, im sure we will see many changes and improvements coming in iOS 7.

[Mackan]

Originally Posted by johndoejohndoes

If there's no innovation this stock will continue to nose dive.

I love my Apple products but I'm hatting AAPL as a stock right now

You'll get the normal incremental update. An A6x CPU, slightly more RAM if lucky. And perhaps NFC now.

I couldn't care less about the stock. It's all based on absurd speculation by stupid and greedy people.

[iGrip]

Originally Posted by johndoejohndoes

If there's no innovation this stock will continue to nose dive.

I love my Apple products but I'm hatting AAPL as a stock right now

Continue to hold. The resistance at $400 will be fierce! Remember, the target is north of $1,000.00.

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Originally Posted by aristotle

I'm glad I skipped the iPhone 5 beta release.
I went from the iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4S and I'll go for the 5S.

The sPhones are always the best. The hold value longer.

Think about it. The 3G is too primitive to even consider, but the 3GS is still kind of cool. The 4? Bleh. But the 4S? Still a good phone.

Likely the i5 will meet the same fate as the other non-s phones: relegated to second class status. And it looks like it is going to happen sooner, rather than later.

[Ironclaw27]

The sPhones are always the best. The hold value longer.

Think about it. The 3G is too primitive to even consider, but the 3GS is still kind of cool. The 4? Bleh. But the 4S? Still a good phone.

Likely the i5 will meet the same fate as the other non-s phones: relegated to second class status. And it looks like it is going to happen sooner, rather than later.

A-men brother! I'm still rockin' the 3GS, although it's had a tough life it's still going strong. I'm waiting for the 5S for the exact reason you've stated above.

[tido2012]

Originally Posted by johndoejohndoes

If there's no innovation this stock will continue to nose dive.

I love my Apple products but I'm hatting AAPL as a stock right now

Understandable. It's been taking some heat lately.

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by johndoejohndoes

If there's no innovation this stock will continue to nose dive.

I love my Apple products but I'm hatting AAPL as a stock right now

Yup. There has been nothing 'innovative' to come out of Apple since the Retina display in the iPhone 4.

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Originally Posted by stuffradio

Can't wait for the 5S to be released so I can start getting excited for the next one. I have to wait for the iPhone 6 because my contract expires September 2014. I will have skipped three generations! I'm on an iPhone 4 still and I still like it. I'll still be excited about the 6 though.

Ditto. My 4 is still going strong. The only thing I would like however is LTE, since the 3G speeds in NYC are abysmal.

[Shlooky]

iOS needs a radical change, make it more Mac OS like, with a file management and new features. Multiple desktops, widgets etc. More gestures and so on!

If iOS 7.0 is not updated in a major way, they will experience less and less people buying their phones.
I have an iPhone 5 (upgraded from 3GS) and it's great. it need a great looking OS.