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

[wizard]

A smaller iPad/larger iPod Touch would be a hot seller. Very hot indeed.

I won't nail a specific screen size but would suggest going to your local Staples and looking at their GPS display. There you should find devices with screen sizes between 4 & 7". Anybody with even a modest imagination should be able to see just how useful a like sized iPo(a)d would be.

It would allow for the following:

1. Direct replacement of GPS units
2. A useful and very portable E-Book reader.
3. If the aspect ratio is keep wide it would make for great video playback. Maybe even as a functional Apple TV.
4. Great internet browser
5. A great FaceTime device.
6. An excellent portble gaming platform.
7. A huge platform for the delivery of Newspapers and magazines.
8. A great platform to deliver in a ruggedized housing for harsh environments.

Some of these features, such as GPS, could be huge for Apple and wipe out some of the smaller players in the market. Others such as gaming are obvious uses for a device in this size class. It should be easy for anybody here to conceptualize their own possible use cases.

What i don't get though is everybody that dismisses this class device simple based on size. Especially with all the current devices, in this size range on the market, that could use a Touch interface. To deny that iOS would work well here is to deny the obvious.

A device such as this could at once replace many items that would other wise have to be on separate platforms. Lets face it iPad is to big to sit on a dash as a GPS device, it is to big to replace most E-Book readers and frankly is of the wrong aspect ratio to serve up media / HD playback.

I make no excuses here either when i focus in on media playback and the issue of a wide sceen. IPads aspect ratio combined with its size make it a terrible machine for movie playbak. This would be even worst on a smaller device so I see Apple optimising the ratio more to the wide end to waste as few pixels as possible. We could actually see Apple market the device as a video iPod. They might even incorporate the name AppleTV.

 

[einmusiker]

I call a huge load of BS. No way apple is gonna release the I5 early and admit to a design flaw, whilst PO'ing millions of customers. Beeee Essssss

 

[thejakill]

I don't get why anyone would want a smaller iPad. The size is what makes it special.

Also don't get why apple would put a screen on the shuffle. The whole idea is that it is very small. A screen would make it bigger. They even took the buttons off and put them on the headphones so the unit would be as small as possible.

A touchscreen nano I would believe, but it seems like a mistake to ditch the wheel. It's much easier to use while driving or working out.

 

[Starfires]

Of Course!

Yes to the new iPods.
No to a new iPhone (except maybe one for other carriers, not really 'new').
Yes to the 'Kindle-sized' iPad, which will have a decent-sized retina screen, cameras, more ram for iOS4 multi-tasking and of course more portability than the current model.

Not my wishful thinking... my predictions.

 

[MacFly123]

WOW on the iPhone rumor...

Wow this is going to piss off a lot of people!

I haven't really had any issues with my iPhone 4 but I would still be LIVID if they tweak it and I don't get a new one! No it is not a sense of entitlement. It is the simple fact that if they tweak it that is admitting a weakness, and if that is the case why the F&#$ shouldn't the people that bought the screwed up one be compensated???

The iPod shuffle will happen, the iPad maybe.

 

[meatballs]

It is not so unthinkable that Apple comes out with a newer version of this iphone in such a short space of time, it has happened before with other products.

They will want to clean the image and bad press while also sorting out the main problems the Iphone4 has been having and that are widely reported.

It will probably have some extras and look similar to this one but it will definitely be a big improvement. They will tell people that it’s a normal product cycle when the Iphone 4 users start to complain.

It may not be Iphone 5 but it might be Iphone 4 s. Good luck with your Iphone 4, thank god I waited. By then there will be more choice with meego and gingerbread to keep Apple on its toes.

Exactly. Also, early iP4 adopters had a chance to return their phones if they wanted to. Any "whining rights" are therefore void in case of an iP4S. MR will be on fire in January ha ha!

 

[pukifloyd]

new ipads and ipod would be awesome. new iphones?...unlikely
if they launch new iphones then maybe they'll have to let the current users buy it at the subsidized rate

 

[cvaldes]

I don't get why anyone would want a smaller iPad. The size is what makes it special.

(sigh) Here we go again.

Different people have different needs. It's not about you. It's about the general marketplace and whether or not there is a potential for serious revenue by selling tens of millions of different sized devices. I will point out right now that there have been different sized iPods, MacBooks, and iMacs for many, many years.

I would love to have a smaller (7" or 8") iPad. Note that there is an existing marketplace of people using devices of this size (eReader market).

Also, if the smaller iPad was less expensive, that would also attract more customers (the current iPad's price has been a well documented barrier to adoption by many).

Again, it's not about your usage case and convincing you buy one device. It's about millions of Joe Consumers around the globe with different ideas of what works for them.

The world doesn't revolve around you.

 

[celo48]

Not. Doing. Well.

They can't keep up with the demand! It is a three week wait still! You think they should be able to sell even more than what they don't have?

No company would tell "my product is bad" or "we are not selling like we expected". I am sorry but I do not believe to those numbers.

One example: I went to an Apple store which is almost always very busy and the store was full of people checking out the iPhone. After the antenna issue, the store had A LOT less people around the new iPhones. This tells me more than the numbers Apple tells me.

 

[MarximusMG]

Exactly. Also, early iP4 adopters had a chance to return their phones if they wanted to. Any "whining rights" are therefore void in case of an iP4S. MR will be on fire in January ha ha!

Agreed. Bring on the Verizon iPhone!!!

 

[cvaldes]

No company would tell "my product is bad" or "we are not selling like we expected". I am sorry but I do not believe to those numbers.

Actually, companies do this all the time (earnings warnings). If they set high expectations and do not meet those numbers, they typically get slaughtered by the stock market.

If a company overestimates demand, they will have excess inventory, not enough revenue, etc. This results in lower profits which means less increase in shareholder value. If a company underestimates demand, that means they are leaving money on the table. Ideally a company forecasts correctly and delivers what they expect to do.

You should start reading the SEC filings for publicly trade companies and get a feel for what companies should and shouldn't be saying.

We will all find out how well iPhone 4 is selling when Apple releases quarterly earnings in October. However, there is no indication that Apple's manufacturing partners are reducing capacity or delivering fewer units.

My guess is that Apple will beat the analysts' EPS estimate of $3.95 (up from $2.77 the same period a year ago), thus smashing iPhone sales records. Note that Apple has a well-established pattern of providing very conservative earnings guidelines. Many analysts figure this in to their estimates. A year from now, it will probably be very clear that the iPhone 4 was the most successful iPhone to date.

 

[taylordubi]

I doubt Apple will make the 7" iPad but I sure wish they would......

 

[aprilfools]

If no new model classic ipods are introduced next month, Im off to amazon.com to buy the iPod 160 gb current model. my iTunes library is currently 112 gb of music. no movies video etc.. just songs. I need an iPod that will handle that. I am tired of taking songs on and off of my iPod touch.

Apple had better not abandon those of us with larger than average itunes libraries.

 

[hiptobesquare]

Here's the thing: I like having all my stuff at my fingertips. Sometimes I get the urge to listen to something, and I want it available anytime. I have a 16GB fist gen Touch, and it was great. However, since I got my Android phone (my first smart phone), I haven't used the Touch at all. It does everything the Touch does, and it's a phone. You can substitute any smart phone in there. They do what the Touch does, and more.

I do, however, use my 160GB Classic every day. It's usually connected to my car stereo, home stereo, dock, etc., so I don't need the pretty interface, the apps, or the internet access. I just need it to connect to stuff and play its contents.

I use my iPhone much like you describe using your Android phone, and I use it as my portable music, with a sub-set of my full library, with favorite albums, and all of my iTunes tracks rated at 4 or 5 stars. There is more music than I could listen to in a month on there.

I would listen more in my car, if it weren't for my cars being old enough and daft enough not to offer line input, and the worst culprit being my 05 Subaru which has a built-in non-replaceable stereo, with no open inputs. FM transmitter thingies are junk, so I usually listen to the radio or fall back to a couple of burned discs in the in-dash changer.

But at home... no need for a dock for me. Itunes from the computer to an airport express with a digital optical cable into my receiver. And my iPhone running Remote to control it from anywhere. Full access to the whole library, piped digitally right into the amplifier.

I can understand your desire for everything at hand. I had that with my 3rd Gen iPod, which was HD based... I didn't listen to nearly all of what was on there, and the HD vs Solid State issues still apply. I do hope they offer a 100+ gigabyte NAND music player in leu of the iPod Classic, if they do sunset the classic form factor.

Frankly, I loved being able to not carry both an iPod and a cell phone. Pocket space is a premium, and I don't carry any kind of a bag, aside from a little lunch box to work.

I hope if they do change the lineup, they adapt the new products to be versatile enough for what you want. That is the point of product versatility.

There are three types of mobile devices:
1. small enough to fit in a pocket (iPod, iPhone)
2. large enough to justify being too big for a pocket (iPad)
3. powerful enough to justify being 5 pounds and needing its own bag (MacBook)

If you take the iPod touch display, increase it by 50% both vertically and horizontally (480x640 using the current pixel density or 960x1280 as a Retina Display) and then put the standard iPod touch bezel around it you get a device that's roughly 3.3" wide and 5.75" tall that would easily slip into a pocket and fit in all but the smallest of hands.

I call it the iNotePad...

I like the idea, although I would still hope that Apple would unify the design theme with iPad, rather than keeping iPod Touch as a third variant, unlike iPhone 4's construction, and unlike iPad's construction.

A new, improved bigger successor to iPod Touch, smaller than iPad to be still pocketable, but bigger screen than iPhone. I'd still suggest a glass-front, aluminum radiused unibody-back, like the iPad.

iNotePad... iPad Mini, iPad 6 (roughly 6" diagonal Retina, or at least near-retina high-res IPS screen capable of HD video.)

I still think that with a good back-side camera and flash, and a VGA front camera for face-time, plus bluetooth connectivity (nike+, bluetooth audio, keyboard connection, etc...), and 6-axis control (accelerometer+gyro), and self-location aware (GPS+compass heading) would be great.

The list would be LONG that such a device could replace.
NAV device
Video and still digital cameras, plus capture kit from other camera devices...
Video and photo editor, and upload to web, without a computer necessary.
Portable gaming system
Portable music player
Portable e-mail, internet, address book and calendar.
Any other thing that iOS can do with apps, minus official cell phone use.
VoIP un-official phone use would be possible, though.
just large enough to do some of what iPad does, yet still fit in a big pocket.

Other than a cell-network phone, it would do a LOT of stuff that people buy multiple devices to do now.

If iPod Nano grows with more features, touch-controls, and NAND Flash memory capacity approaching the older iPod Classic, but still compact in size it would be the main-line iPod device, perhaps losing the "nano" suffix, and returning to just the iPod name alone, paired with the micro-form-factor Shuffle-like device. (perhaps the "nano" name should go there.)
Hopefully such a device would have enough capacity and versatility, and a price point that would attract both groups of people who like the existing Nano, and who like the capacity of the iPod Classic, like Steve2112 above.

I can see how iPod Touch's successor, a smaller iPad, doing pretty well, elevated beyond "iPod", especially in concert with a bigger 10" iPad for those who want that. My earlier suggestion was 3 sizes... perhaps just 2 would be more concise, in the 6" range, rather than both a 5" iPhone-like, and a mid-range 7" device, along with the existing 9.7/10" form factor.

The iPad form-factor association of such a device, would essentially break the form-factor tie to iPhone, while all 3 remain compatible iOS devices, software wise.

iPhone would stand alone as the smallest but perhaps most hardware-feature-dense device, with it's own look and feel.

The iPads, and possibly future more premium net-book-like MacBook Air revision (11" screen + keyboard/trackpad + full Mac OS would be differences between MBA and iPad) would take on an ultra-thin, but MacBook Pro-like look and feel, as they already do.

Re-naming and re-designing the successor to the iPod touch as a smaller iPad would also break the naming-convention tie to the iPod line, where the iPods would remain menu-driven stored-media players, under the iOS multi-function portable computing and connectivity "smart" devices.

Here's hoping.

 

[ChrisTX]

Your individual use case isn't valid for Apple to make a sweeping business decision.

Different people have different needs. I personally would rather have a 7" or 8" iPad rather than the currently-shipping model. There is a market for a smaller iPad, particularly if it comes in at a lower price point which would be expected since the touchscreen panel is the most expensive part in the bill of materials. Cost has been well documented barrier to iPad adoption.

The fact of the matter is Apple serves what the mass market consumer wants, not a individual commenter on a Mac rumors website. Apple isn't making devices for you. They are making devices for the Joe Consumers of this world, but most affluent ones with large amounts of disposable income, well educated, et cetera.

Dude quit acting like you know what "Joe consumer" wants. No one but you wants a 7" iPad. Quit being so pompous about it.

 

[rhett7660]

Wow... people are not complaining if they release a phone before the end of the year??? If you look back through some of the threads people are complaining Apple doesn't release them enough and now there is a rumor with a six or seven month window and people are complaining they are releasing them to much... people are never happy.

 

[bent2013]

Don't buy it!

It's verry simple, if you have a problem with Apples's products then don't buy them! Then all of the issues we face could go away! So quit complaing and chill out!

 

[MacKeeperFanMod]

The report also addresses the iPhone 4 bumpers, with claims that Apple may be preparing to release a new, all-silicone bumper for the iPhone 4 that would provide the company with a cheaper solution to address the device's antenna issues. The report's source also claims that Apple considered shipping the iPhone 4 with bumpers from the very beginning, implying that the company was aware of a potential antenna issue.

If true this is shocking.

As if lying to and blaming users wasn't bad enough, they want to hand out cheaper bumpers to resolve the issue rather than just fixing the problem. I don't know why anyone would buy anything from such a dishonest company.

 

[Gaki]

I don't get why anyone would want a smaller iPad. The size is what makes it special.

You don't get it because you can't think outside your own box.

1. I want a convenient e-reader that's not going to fatigue my hand if I read one handed. The current iPad is too big for this.
2. I have a funky little shoulder bag I've been carrying my PDA and my bluetooth keyboard in for years, now, and the new iPad is simply too big to fit it. I don't need a bigger screen, I need more portability.
3. I want to potentially get rid of my cell phone, notebook, PDA and iPod with a combined item. The bigger the iPad is, the less convenient it is as a replacement for most of those.

 

[goobot]

everything in this post is bs

 

[ChrisTX]

(sigh) Here we go again.

Different people have different needs. It's not about you. It's about the general marketplace and whether or not there is a potential for serious revenue by selling tens of millions of different sized devices. I will point out right now that there have been different sized iPods, MacBooks, and iMacs for many, many years.

I would love to have a smaller (7" or 8") iPad. Note that there is an existing marketplace of people using devices of this size (eReader market).

Also, if the smaller iPad was less expensive, that would also attract more customers (the current iPad's price has been a well documented barrier to adoption by many).

Again, it's not about your usage case and convincing you buy one device. It's about millions of Joe Consumers around the globe with different ideas of what works for them.

The world doesn't revolve around you.

Seriously you have no clue. Apples price point for the current generation iPad is on point. They have sold well over 3.5 million of them and are literally selling every last one they make with a ship time of two weeks. Which means they cannot make them fast enough I know this because I recently picked one up, and all but one Apple store in Houston was sold out, and my order online had a 3 week ship time. Quit acting like you are the authority on Apple and general consumerism.

 

[unchecked]

Tempting consumer backlash? They're going to take that chance. Look at the full report on the site regarding the September bumpers:

4. iPhone 4 Bumpers, Generations 0 and 2. To reduce the cost of the current iPhone 4 Case Program, the company is currently working on a less expensive all-silicone version of the Bumper to give away after September. Our source says that the original, unreleased version of Bumper had more hard plastic than the final version, and claims that Apple was considering giving Bumpers away with every iPhone 4 before deciding to take its chances with the bare device. The question is whether the Bumpers were originally intended for glass protection or antenna coverage, and why Apple developed them in the first place.

If it's true

Apple was concerned enough to contemplate giving away bumpers together with their iPhones, this showed how much confidence they had in their product, and yet they took their chances, launched and sold the bare iPhone and bumpers separately.

If they had the guts to make that kind of decision on the expense on the consumer, there's no telling how far they are willing to push the iPhone brand.

 

[ChrisTX]

Tempting consumer backlash? They're going to take that chance. Look at the full report on the site regarding the September bumpers:



If it's true

Apple was concerned enough to contemplate giving away bumpers together with their iPhones, this showed how much confidence they had in their product, and yet they took their chances, launched and sold the bare iPhone and bumpers separately.

If they had the guts to make that kind of decision on the expense on the consumer, there's no telling how far they are willing to push the iPhone brand.

I agree it kind of sucks if Apple thought there might be a problem but figured "Meh we'll launch this phone anyways.". However not everyone is having problems so I don't see it as that big of a deal.

 

[Gaki]

No one but you wants a 7" iPad. Quit being so pompous about it.

Cue the hypocrisy police.

 

[celo48]

A year from now, it will probably be very clear that the iPhone 4 was the most successful iPhone to date.

I have no doubt. iPhone received such a huge press because of their successful phones and because they are simply Apple the new Apple phone(s) will only get better. However, I am trying to say that the antenna issue cut the sales a lot more than Steve Jobs expected. Remember he replied to someone saying "Don't hold the phone like that" or "hold it differently" something in that line. Not important what exactly he said but he was not expecting this either.

Then the antenna issue meeting, etc. Now, he sees that this is hurting the reputation. A lot of new Apple customers that I know are backing off the iPhone 4 now, including me who is an Apple customer for 5 years. How can they convince people the antenna issue is not there anymore. The easiest way is iPhone 5. New, fresh and the best antenna design, etc. etc. Put some good marketing words there which Apple is very good at and everybody is convinced that Apple has the best phone again.