No Hardware Announcements at WWDC 2011? [Updated: No New iPhone Until FY 2012?]

[SactoGuy18]

I wonder is Apple delaying the iPhone 5 so they can incorporate a cellphone chipset from Broadcom or Qualcomm that can use either GSM, CDMA or LTE? That way, when the iPhone 5 arrives probably in October 2011 you can run it on almost any cellphone network on Earth.

 

[johndallas999]

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I'm on a 3G with a contract that ended in Feb. Why are people fliping out that their contracts are ending and a new phone is not available? From what I've been told, my contract is now month-to-month until I upgrade my phone. Even if it was under two years, I can still upgrade my phone. Granted, that locks me down for two more years, but I'm happy with AT&T and the iPhone. What's the worry?

There isn't a "worry" but you know how people feel about new gadgets, especially apple products they want them right away. Just because you feel that way doesn't mean everyone should share your patience. Everyone is different. I'm upgrade eligible as of March 1st but was hoping for an iPhone 5 this summer. It's a HUGE disappointment even though my current phone works great. Point is it's ok to be patient and it's ok to be frustrated. Don't knock people for not feeling the way you do.

 

[Tyrion]

Dude... your contract is only there to cover the subsidized cost of your phone. You don't have to sign a new contract to keep your pricing. Just let it go and all will be the same until you upgrade. There is no price changes because your contract is up.

I'd just like to point out that this might be how it works in the US, but carriers in other countries might deal with this differently. Where I live, your contract is simply tacitly extended unless you explicitly CANCEL it shortly before it expires. This wasn't a big deal in the past, because in my case the contract extension always coincided with the release of a new iPhone, which I was then able to get at a subsidised price. I don't know what's going to happen if I get my contract extension in June and the new iPhone only becomes available in, say, September.

Also, 2-year contracts are, once again, an American reality, but things might be different in other significant markets. Personally, I bought my iPhone 4 on a one-year contract, with a mind to upgrading to the iPhone 5 in June 2011.

 

[morfeas-dsl-]

Also, 2-year contracts are, once again, an American reality, but things might be different in other significant markets. Personally, I bought my iPhone 4 on a one-year contract, with a mind to upgrading to the iPhone 5 in June 2011.

thats right! Here in Greece we only sign 1 year contract and we can leave any time just by paying an amount based on the months we have stayed.
For example with 60 euros per month(for 1 year contract) and 100 euros extra you buy an iphone 32GB and you have unlimited data,unlimited tethering and about 1500 minutes to talk with whoever you want.

WE WANT IPHONE 5 this june!!!!

 

[KnightWRX]

thats right! Here in Greece we only sign 1 year contract and we can leave any time just by paying an amount based on the months we have stayed.
For example with 60 euros per month(for 1 year contract) and 100 euros extra you buy an iphone 32GB and you have unlimited data,unlimited tethering and about 1500 minutes to talk with whoever you want.

WE WANT IPHONE 5 this june!!!!

You do realise you don't have to have a contract right ? Contracts are the last reason Apple should rush out an update. People can live without contracts for a few months (really, what's the rush of yet again tying yourself to your carrier ?)

 

[Jcoz]

Nope, I never said that. I said their market share (which means quarter based sales) in the smartphone arena is catching up if not already better and that we're starting to see stories of the Android Market being more lucrative to certain devs than the Apple App Store. We're at the tipping point and the last thing Apple should do is delay a refresh.

10-4, I think I may have been misunderstanding the term market share for some time now.....

 

[ivan2002]

So the System on a Chip is an external design.
So the remarkable un-removable battery is an external design.
So the retina display is considered just an external design.

Apple made the hardware they combined it all together, just like your branded motherboard.
Let's say an Asus Motherboard that have Japan capacitors, Nvidia/Ati/Intel chipsets, Realtek/Intel/Marvell NICS, etc
You're trying to say that Asus didn't made that motherboard, they just design it and it's the external design that sells?

I did not say that Apple does external design only, I said that it's their external design that sells. If they were such masters of internal design, they would do an equally good job selling non-portable devices too.

 

[morfeas-dsl-]

You do realise you don't have to have a contract right ? Contracts are the last reason Apple should rush out an update. People can live without contracts for a few months (really, what's the rush of yet again tying yourself to your carrier ?)

You do realize that after 1 year here, your contract changes and you can leave anytime you want? Noone needs to be without a contract

Anyway i was talking about the thing you have there in america for 2 year contracts , something that is unacceptable in Europe not that apple should rush out an update.

 

[rmwebs]

Here's a wacky thought. Why not let Apple tell us whats going on when they are good and ready instead of a huge argument from a bunch of people (myself included) who have as much knowledge on the iPhone 5 as a paper bag.

They have been doing this for years...I'm pretty sure they know what they are doing.

 

[KnightWRX]

You do realize that after 1 year here, your contract changes and you can leave anytime you want? Noone needs to be without a contract

So you'd be ready to change your phone and tie yourself to another contract just because the one you had expired ? You do realise again : You can wait for the iPhone 5 to renew your contract and just go contractless for a few months.

Some of you contract people are funny.

 

[FatMac128]

My thinking too. If, by waiting another three months, Apple could release an LTE version of the iPhone, this might make more sense for them.

Imagine what the holiday season would look like if more of their competitors were out with LTE phones and Apple was just standing pat with what amounted to a refresh of the iPhone 4. Instead, with an LTE iPhone out, they would avoid having tons of customers going over to Android.

I turly love your thinking! Hope you are right!

 

[MonkeySee....]

I'd just like to point out that this might be how it works in the US, but carriers in other countries might deal with this differently. Where I live, your contract is simply tacitly extended unless you explicitly CANCEL it shortly before it expires. This wasn't a big deal in the past, because in my case the contract extension always coincided with the release of a new iPhone, which I was then able to get at a subsidised price. I don't know what's going to happen if I get my contract extension in June and the new iPhone only becomes available in, say, September.

Also, 2-year contracts are, once again, an American reality, but things might be different in other significant markets. Personally, I bought my iPhone 4 on a one-year contract, with a mind to upgrading to the iPhone 5 in June 2011.

Where are you from because what you describe doesn't happen in the UK.

When my contract expires it will keep rolling and i can cancel or upgrade when i want.

 

[28monkeys]

triple "SAD"

 

[morfeas-dsl-]

So you'd be ready to change your phone and tie yourself to another contract just because the one you had expired ? You do realise again : You can wait for the iPhone 5 to renew your contract and just go contractless for a few months.

Some of you contract people are funny.

am i not talking correct english? Is my grammar wrong? i am saying that i can just let my contract to roll and that i will renew only when iphone 5 is out so i can get it for free.I am able to cancel it anytime without cost, so I dont have to go without a contract. It is totally different here in europe .

 

[vvebsta]

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"And if it requires an iPhone 4 to utilise those upgrades? Could be some annoyed 3GS owners out there..."

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I don't see what you are wanting. Usually features are determined by the capability of the hardware. For example if you don't have a front facing camera, you can't expect to FaceTime anyone. I'm sure the 3GS will get all the features it can support. If not, no ones stopping you from upgrading to an iPhone 4.

Other than that NFC chip (which really isn't a necessity) the iPhone 4 has pretty much all the hardware you could want. Processor or camera upgrades wouldn't require a change in form factor. Really the best improvement they could make to the phone is to better the iOS software. A fresh OS will make it feel like a new phone. Really the software makes the phone.

 

[whatever]

Apple doesn't make the hardware, they DESIGN it. It's the external design that sells their products, that's why they lead in devices that people carry on their person and lag in devices that sit on desks and in offices. As for the white thing, it's just that my taste is a bit more sophisticated than most consumers'. Btw, Nokia used to make both the hardware and the software. Much good that did them.

They make the product. It's an Apple iPhone.

It's not the external design that sells their product. If that was the case then all of these other cool looking products would be eating Apple's lunch. The iPod was not the best looking or feature rich music player. It was the combination of the software and the hardware that made it succeed.

The same is true with the iPhone and the iPad. We've all seen and played with cool looking Android devices, but what is the one thing that almost everyone (especially reviewers) say. Compared to the iPhone and/or iPad they seem incomplete. So although they may have better hardware, they fall flat on their faces when it comes to software.

 

[reviewspin]

Why because it doesn't have a dual core processor, 1GB of RAM and a 3D screen with 5G radio?

When every year you blow people away with being the best, and you skip a cycle, it gives the other companies time to get better. Look at the EVO3D. It has a dual 1.2 ghz Snapdragon processor, the same screen res as the iPhone 4 but with a larger screen, and a gig of ram. Did I mention the screen res? Forget it's 3D, it's amazing. And I am not even mentioning the HP Pre 3 ... how cool is that phone?

It's a "Developers Conference" - doesn't technically have much to do with hardware. iPhone gets introduced in January like the first iPhone. This has probably already been said, but fook reading 400 posts.

It can have to do with hardware. Hardware enables new things for developers all the time. Like Nintendo making the 3DS. This enables a whole new way to play games and for developers to be creative. You can 't simply port a game from the 3DS to another platform unless it is 3D. And thats just one example.

I've been thinking about it a fair bit and it just doesn't make sense for Apple to push the "regularly" scheduled launch date for the iPhone to September. It will throw off millions of customers' upgrade timeframes, making them wait long enough and maybe get frustrated enough to go to Android. If they delay anything due to supply issues, I doubt it will be much more than a month long delay. I don't see Apple as giving a crap that people who ALREADY gave them money and signed contracts will be irritated that a new phone is coming out. If anything, the rich prigs of the bunch will just go ahead and pay full price to upgrade again, making Apple even more money. How would Apple see this as bad??

It DOES, however, make sense to stop announcing hardware at a software developers' conference. The added benefit to spacing out the announcements is that it will allow buzz to build, press to be garnered, followed by more buzz and more press, rinse, repeat... It seems likely that Apple will continue with format of the last couple hardware releases and schedule press conferences when they are nearing release date.

It doesn't make sense to announce new hardware without it's software update too. It doesn't make sense to launch new software without it's hardware. I would be willing to be with what happened in Japan, and with iOS 5 more and more looks like it will be completely re imagined (adding new features and possibly a new theme of sorts) that iOS 5 could be delayed to make it perfect. I would say a Sept. 2011 launch is possible, and it will through off other companies -- especially Sprint. Sprint (and use to Verizon) would loose customers every summer to ATT b/c of iPhone. Sprint had the EVO3D to help stop that, but what do they have this fall? We'll see!

I hate to brak it to you but that is the reason why the iPhone is being pushed back.. Because Japan is where some of it parts are coming from.. So if Japan is not making parts then there are no parts for the iPhone.... So yes the natural disaster in Japan will hurt the iphone 5... Again people caring about a phone that is not going to end their life just because it not coming out this year.. It sad really how people are crying and bitching about this.. Really sad..

I agree.

 

[Jcoz]

When every year you blow people away with being the best, and you skip a cycle, it gives the other companies time to get better. Look at the EVO3D. It has a dual 1.2 ghz Snapdragon processor, the same screen res as the iPhone 4 but with a larger screen, and a gig of ram. Did I mention the screen res? Forget it's 3D, it's amazing. And I am not even mentioning the HP Pre 3 ... how cool is that phone?



It can have to do with hardware. Hardware enables new things for developers all the time. Like Nintendo making the 3DS. This enables a whole new way to play games and for developers to be creative. You can 't simply port a game from the 3DS to another platform unless it is 3D. And thats just one example.



It doesn't make sense to announce new hardware without it's software update too. It doesn't make sense to launch new software without it's hardware. I would be willing to be with what happened in Japan, and with iOS 5 more and more looks like it will be completely re imagined (adding new features and possibly a new theme of sorts) that iOS 5 could be delayed to make it perfect. I would say a Sept. 2011 launch is possible, and it will through off other companies -- especially Sprint. Sprint (and use to Verizon) would loose customers every summer to ATT b/c of iPhone. Sprint had the EVO3D to help stop that, but what do they have this fall? We'll see!



I agree.

The screen rez is not what makes the iPhone 4 screen so crisp, its the DPI.

The specs say the EVO3D will have 960x540 to the IP4's 960x640 ....DPI will be 256 vs 326

 

[2IS]

They make the product. It's an Apple iPhone.

It's not the external design that sells their product....

I assure you their designs do sell their products. It may not be the only factor but you're seriously misinformed if you think it's not a factor at all. A big one at that.

 

[ivan2002]

If that was the case then all of these other cool looking products would be eating Apple's lunch. The iPod was not the best looking or feature rich music player. It was the combination of the software and the hardware that made it succeed.

iPhone is the coolest looking phone in the world (unless we count some of those Prada, Gucci, etc. fashionista niche market items), and iPod is (and has always been) BY FAR the coolest looking MP3 player.

In fact, every single thing Apple makes is without question cooler looking than any competing product. The competitors aren't even trying to beat Apple on coolness (everyone has pretty much given up on it). As for software/hardware combo, much good that did to Microsoft Zune.

Out of curiosity: which phone/mp3 player/tablet/notebook out there do you find cooler looking than Apple?

 

[Kane08]

I don't buy it

Quite frankly, I don't buy this rumor. For one, there would be no iOS without the iPhone and vice versa (yes, I know about the touch and iPad, but the iPhone started it) so new hardware, such as the iPhone, is an integral part of the future of iOS. Second, if they don't launch something, or delay it there will be millions of unhappy customers, media backlash in the constant criticism of apple, and even more fuel for the increasingly annoying fandroid base. Finally, everyday there are new rumors how "apple just can't pull it off this time" or "apple isn't doing this or that this time" and every time it's wrong. The most recent example that immediately comes to mind being all the rumors that the iPad 2 was being delayed and wouldn't ship until much later in the year

 

[Kane08]

I did not say that Apple does external design only, I said that it's their external design that sells. If they were such masters of internal design, they would do an equally good job selling non-portable devices too.

Because they obviously haven't been selling more iMacs, MacBook pros, etc year over year... Oh wait...

 

[ivan2002]

Because they obviously haven't been selling more iMacs, MacBook pros, etc year over year... Oh wait...

Give me a break. They dominate portable devices, and they lag in anything that sits in the office or at home. Besides, you know damn well how much of a selling point the design (the look and feel) is for MacBook Pros and iMacs (Plus, MacBook Pros should be considered portable too, at least here in NYC (possibly the biggest market for Apple) the looks of the laptop you put in front of yourself when you sit down for coffee is no less important than any other fashion item you have on your person. No one in their right mind takes out an HP, and you know it's not for the lack of the computing power)

 

[73CortinaV8]

uh oh, the "me me me" consumers are up in arms!!

 

[reviewspin]

The screen rez is not what makes the iPhone 4 screen so crisp, its the DPI.

The specs say the EVO3D will have 960x540 to the IP4's 960x640 ....DPI will be 256 vs 326

Which still leaves my main point open: this leaves room for other companies to catch up -- and in some area's even surpass -- Apple in terms of hardware. Of course, if they DO release hardware this year then being delayed doesn't really matter.