Next-Generation iOS Device Rumors: New iPods Soon, Smaller iPad and iPhone 5 in Early 2011?

[MRU]

Smaller iPad ? Nah... I just can't imagine another 6 variants of iPad cannibalizing more sales.

And new iPhones when iPhone 4 White still hasn't hit the shelves? Nah...

 

[Sean4123]

IF a new iPhone comes out in January, I'm buying a Droid and going to verizon!

COOL STORY BRO!


BTW: No you won't.

 

[cvaldes]

But if you're going to lose exclusivity to one carrier, then why not open it up to ALL carriers (Verizon & Sprint for CDMA, AT&T and T-Mobile for GSM.) If this happens, then your rollout idea could work. Get the GSM folks in mid-year, and the CDMA folks six months later, each time providing a small glimpse of what's to come for the other network type.

Apple has discontinued carrier exclusivity in many markets. Each and every time, they have always offer the handset to other GSM/UTMS mobile operators. Thus, if AT&T loses iPhone exclusivity, the handset is likely to show up on the T-Mobile USA network before Verizon and Sprint.

For Apple to make a CDMA-compatible iPhone, it is likely that they would need multiple mobile operators in large markets to adopt the handset. Just shipping to Verizon probably wouldn't be enough to make it worth their while.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Other phone makers release new phones semi frequently, why shouldn't Apple?

 

[AbSoluTc]

*sigh*

More Verizon iPhone chatter.. again. It's not even 2011 yet. Jeesh.

 

[NetScheduler]

I don't understand why people are so angry over putting bumper case on iphone 4. I personally love the bumper case. It makes the grip less slippery and I find it quite stylish too. plus it's free.

also, even if the antenna issue did not exist, people should've been seeking for a case/bumper anyways because of potential crack when you drop it.

Some Apple users are just too damn unreasonable.

Yes, YOU "Love" them and that means EVERYONE is required to "LOVE" them too... Yeah, why are people so "damn unreasonable"?? Why can't they all just blindly agree with you....

Typical Mindless Fanboy..

 

[Sean4123]

Get an ipod touch, it is the same device only smaller.

False. The size MAKES THE iPad. People are nuts. Top that off with the A4 processor and you've got a much faster device than the iPod Touch. Go try one out at the Apple store and eat your words as I ate mine after trying one.

 

[cvaldes]

Smaller iPad ? Nah... I just can't imagine another 6 variants of iPad cannibalizing more sales.

They would be diversifying the product line, much in the way that there are multiple sizes of iPods (shuffle, nano, classic, and touch), MacBooks (13" non-pro; 13", 15", 17" Pro, and Air), as well as the iMac (multiple sizes that I won't even bother listing).

There is a strong likelihood that different size iPads would capture a larger marketshare than a single-sized model.

Get an ipod touch, it is the same device only smaller.

This is not true. While the devices are similar, the interaction is significantly different because of the size differences. It's like the difference between a hot tub and a swimming pool.

I'm a longtime iPod touch owner and we have several iPads here at work. Even if the devices look very similar, the usability of certain functions can be markedly different.

 

[hiptobesquare]

Very true. I had a Touch for a short time, and absolutely hated it. Nothing beats a good ol' hard drive, centered solely on music. The death of the Classic will be the end of an amazing era.

I've had two HD based iPods, 1st and 3rd gen, as well as an original iPhone, and now an iPhone 4.

Hard drives had greater capacity. That is not really the case anymore, if Apple were to commit to it.

I was worried on more than one occaision that a spinning hard drive would be damaged by a jolt or a jostle. Moving parts in a device like that, are not a great thing.

the iPod Classic (including all the HD models back to the original) was an amazing device. It revolutionized an industry or several. But it can rest on it's laurels now. Solid State can take over well.

An iPod Nano could be equipped with over 100GB of flash memory, if Apple wanted to. iPod Touch or an iPad-labeled successor to it could also have quite a bit of flash memory on-board, just as platter drives are gradually being replaced by some SSDs. if the iPod Classic sunsets after a long, great life, the flash-based players would stand to increase in capacity without duplicating product stats.

NAND takes less power, is more impact resistant, and allows smaller devices with larger and longer duration batteries.

That, as well as devices being much more versatile now. Even if you don't use lots of apps, you can clear off all the apps you don't use, or at least hide them on later screen "pages" to be out of sight and out of mind.

But I will say... going from a dumb cell phone, and a classic-style iPod, to my previous iPhone... it was SO NICE to be able to look things up on the internet on the fly, instead of having to say "I'll have to remember to look that up when I get home to my computer..."

I have yet to fill my iPhone 4 32GB, even though I have over 80GB of iTunes Library. I don't listen to THAT much music on the fly, and I tend to leave off the most obscure stuff, and album-filler stuff that I don't rate all that highly. that I don't really feel the burning need to listen to at any given moment. And I sync often enough to fiddle about with that from time to time.

If I had ~128GB of space on my iPhone, like some new SSDs, I would probably just load the whole library by default. And still not listen to the obscure-to-me stuff very much at all.

 

[HLdan]

Don't see the need for a 7 inch iPad. The size now is perfect and any smaller would be too small. I think Apple spent a long time figuring out the perfect size for the iPad, and don't see them adding a smaller version. You have the iPhone/iPod touch size, and the iPad. No need for anything in between.

You do realize that makes zero sense what you wrote. People are doing almost the same things on their iPhone and iPod Touch as they do on the iPad so the smaller screen has been a success so far, so why not a 7" iPad? Besides the iPad is a bit big for many people to carry around daily and now that the Kindle is touting off it's smaller screen model, it would make sense for Apple to make a smaller iPad.

 

[2 Replies]

Well, maybe in your 'world' but there are lots of people who always keep their iPhone (2G/3G/3Gs/4) naked because they like it more that way.
My iPhone is assured so if I drop it, or I'll spill water on it, they will just replace it. I wasn't planning to buy a case (or bumper). I like the iPhone 4 when it's just naked. And well, now I'm forced to use some sort of case since I can't browse the web on 3G because the signal drops all the time. It will just jump back to GRPS (that's like 8 times slower than EDGE) and that's no fun to use.

You can also be pissed that the expensive hardware purchase and two year contract require a 'bumper' to avoid the reception issue.
A bumper that while free will wear out and be loose in about a year (if not sooner) leaving you to purchase yet another.

 

[frozencarbonite]

coments like this are stupid. Every other company releases much more crap than Apple on an ongoing basis (look at Sony). You are never forced to buy the next thing. Does yours stop working with the next issue comes out? These comments are so tiresome.

I don't have a problem when a company releases something new. The company I work for recently bought a brand new MacBook Pro. The day I got it, the new version was released. I didn't care. That's the way it goes. I have no problem with Apple releasing new products.

But to release a new iPhone & most likely charge existing iPhone 4 owners for something that should have been recalled or permanently fixed (not this free case junk), will be a huge slap in the face.

 

[recordprod]

I don't understand why people think 7" iPad is a bad idea.

Let's make this simple: how many people would buy a 7" iPad?

Speak up and tell me what you would use it for?

I would buy it right away. Been waiting for something like for years.

I want one. I was hoping the iPad was going to be available in both 7" and 10" so have held off buying. I want a compact device that will fit in a large pocket that I can take on the road with me, my iPhone screen is too small.

 

[MRU]

They would be diversifying the product line, much in the way that there are multiple sizes of iPods (shuffle, nano, classic, and touch), MacBooks (13" non-pro; 13", 15", 17" Pro, and Air), as well as the iMac (multiple sizes that I won't even bother listing).

There is a strong likelihood that different size iPads would capture a larger marketshare than a single-sized model.

I guess...

But I just can't see a 7" model coming before the year end when they still can't keep up supply of the 9.7" model. Add the fact that if it's released early 2011 it would mean 9.7" iPad 2 refresh only 3 months or so after... The timeframes all seem wrong.

 

[Danhattan]

Sorry, but the Verizon iPhone will never happen. Ok! People have been waiting for years. I don't know why everyone wants it to go to verizon? Have they actually tried verizon? Especially where I drive, and live, AT&T is the only way.

I was a very happy verizon customer for many years. I regret the day I switched to ATT for the iPhone. My service was amazing with Verizon. In fact I did not know what a dropped call was untill I went to ATT. I will never forget it...the first day I had the iPhoneI experienced dropped calls and it has been down hill from there. Don't get me wrong...I think the iPhone is an amazing...it's just a shame it hooked up with ATT. But not for long!!!!! Jan 2011 + Verizon + iPhone = BOOYAH!!!!

 

[acurafan]

iphone 5 early, hahaha, all you suckers...

 

[axual]

Not really

Wow. That would be a huge middle finger to the people who just bought an iPhone. I know technology evolves quickly, but 6 months?! That's just ridiculous.

There is really no difference between 6 months and 12 months when it comes to this stuff; a new phone typically requires a 24 month commit, so even if they came out with a phone every month, it doesn't matter. There is NEVER a moment in time one is current with technology.

 

[nemaslov]

I don't have a problem when a company releases something new. The company I work for recently bought a brand new MacBook Pro. The day I got it, the new version was released. I didn't care. That's the way it goes. I have no problem with Apple releasing new products.

But to release a new iPhone & most likely charge existing iPhone 4 owners for something that should have been recalled or permanently fixed (not this free case junk), will be a huge slap in the face.

Any iPhone 4 owner can STILL return their phone for a full refund and yes ATT will cancel their terms. Not a slap in the face. I have a 3GS and have always used some sort of minimal casing. If you do not like a case you can get a refund or not buy at all. You can buy another brand. You have freedom of choice. If you like the next release next year you can buy one then. Or not. I have friends who love their iPhone 4. With and without cases. They have fewer dropped calls a better reception than I do with my 3GS. I love my 3GS and find no need to get every single new version. I have chosen to skip over the next newest version and buy every other. It's also (slightly) better for the environment.

 

[hiptobesquare]

I guess...

But I just can't see a 7" model coming before the year end when they still can't keep up supply of the 9.7" model. Add the fact that if it's released early 2011 it would mean 9.7" iPad 2 refresh only 3 months or so after... The timeframes all seem wrong.

splitting the demand between 7" and 10"... possibly as well as releasing a new iPod touch, which should be an iPad 5"...

That might help them keep up with demand, instead of having trouble keeping up with 10" demand, with screen supply speed issues.

Some folks who want something in a 7" size may be buying 10" size just to get something.

 

[Danhattan]

Of course there won't be an iPhone 5 in January.

It will be called the iPhone 4G with Verizon.

Who cares what they call it.....the important thing is V-E-R-I-Z-O-N!

 

[2 Replies]

The smaller ipad makes sense is for two reasons.
1. Retinal display. It's not cheap, and you don't need as much screen real-estate to display the same pixel information that is displayed on current ipads.
2. HP Slate. It IS coming, it's not dead. And it's smaller than the iPad, so will capitalize on the market of users who don't like the bulkiness of the iPad.

The reason the iPhone makes sense because the problem with the antenna WAS a BIG issue. Don't agree? Go argue with Steve Jobs, he called the conference to talk about it. No other Apple hardware flaw got such a short-notice conference. Hell, Jobs flew back from Hawaii to deal with it.
And Apple knows the only way to adequately fix the problem is with a hardware fix, not just a temporary bumper band-aid.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

I think the ipod touch should be folded into the ipad line eventually. I realize there are many differences beyond size currently but in terms of functionality, having an ipod touch and a smaller ipad not much bigger starts to get confusing. Eventually the ipod touch model should just be the smallest ipad.

The ipod line would be separate with smaller screens (if any). I watch video on my ipod classic. I don't mind because when I do I'm up close anyway and its about convenience more than experience. I would switch to the ipod touch if the drive was larger. As prices come down and they can deliver an ipod touch with 100GB of space for a decent price then at that point I don't see any point in an ipod with a screen. Non-screen ipods would be an option for music at that point. Until then the ipod classic should remain.

 

[Master Chief]

"The fifth-generation iPhone may be set to launch as early as January in order to address antenna issues with the iPhone 4."

No new iPhone model for a non-existing issue. For a different provider, maybe. Just a tiny little maybe.

 

[cvaldes]

I guess...

But I just can't see a 7" model coming before the year end when they still can't keep up supply of the 9.7" model. Add the fact that if it's released early 2011 it would mean 9.7" iPad 2 refresh only 3 months or so after... The timeframes all seem wrong.

The limiting constraint of the current iPad is supply of the 9.7" IPS screen. As a different sized model, the 7" unit would have its own supply constraints. There haven't been any rumors of silicon shortage. As the production volumes increase, the costs come down. As long as the suppliers are capable, Apple benefits from selling oodles of iDevices.

Also, this makes it more difficult for Apple's competitors if Apple gobbles up all of the high-capacity NAND chips.

Personally, I don't think the 7" iPad would come next year. I'm thinking that it might be announced this fall, at the same time or shortly after the traditional iPod refresh (September/October).

Note that Apple is supposed to release iOS 4 to the iPad sometime "this fall" (possibly as late as November). This might coincide with a second iPad model.

 

[FlyinggPenguin]

Well,

If Apple really wants everyone to own an iPad, they would make a smaller one for middle schoolers (like myself) and high-schoolers, and the bigger iPad would be meant for older folks. As long as it runs iOS just as well as the original, I'd be interested. I would say maybe a $120 price tag.