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When in 2012 for iPhone 5?

PracticalMac

PracticalMac

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jan 22, 2009
2,857
5,246
Houston, TX
Facts:

1. Sprint signed a massive exclusive deal for iPhone, but iPhone 4S does not sound like exclusive deal for Sprint.
2. T-Mobile execs said nothing "this year (2011)".
3. Case makers shipping iPhone 5 stuff
4. iPhone 3GS came out same time as iPhone 4 (EDIT: was 8GB version, 16 and 32 came out year earlier)
5. iPhone 4 is format almost 15 months old.
6. Now is start of Christmas season.

Despite the similar exterior, the interior seems to have significant updates in multiple network support and highly advanced "switching antenna" design, plus the A5 CPU.
It may be this is a careful development step to a far more flexible "world phone".

Being the start of shopping season, it is too late to launch an iPhone 5 as well, and the iPhones will start to compete with themselves.

I am predicting that Apple will use the first few weeks of iPhone 4S usage as a test of the new hardware designs and make adjustments to the final iP5 guts.

With November the design freeze date (before Thanks giving so engineers can take extended holiday ;) ), the final article boards are ordered into production, which will take some days to begin the process.
December could see parts for iPhone 5 going down the line.
January will be announcement of iPhone 5, which will go on sale in..
February, possibly with Sprint getting a heard start on the 5.

T-Mobile will also get the 5 (and the 3GS goes out of production).

Plausible?, or BUSTED!
 
Last edited:
not going to happen. apple didn't wait 16 months to update the iPhone, only to update it again in 6 months.

the iPhone5 cases were based on a stolen prototype. some theories say apple leaked it themselves, to try to find who in the supply chain is selling them out.

why would apple let t-mobile carry the iphone, when t-mobile is in the middle of trying to be bought by AT&T?
 
Check your FACTS. It is not a FACT that Sprint signed an EXCLUSIVE deal with Apple. That was speculation and it is pretty obvious they made a deal but it is anything but EXCLUSIVE. Everything else looks okay though.
 
I'd like it if they went back to a summer release for the iphone, but maybe apple wants to show all i-related devices at once. Anyway, a fall release does make it easier on people who are waiting in line in the south. In addition, fall gets in the mind of people who are checking off winter holiday gifting lists.
I'll go with a range of summer to fall for iphone 5 (or whatever it'll be called).
 
History shows the major refresh is every two years which is why rumors of an iPhone 5 surprised me in the first place. I'm betting on its actual release to be summer-fall 2012.
 
Late 2012/early2013

I know lots of people are going to hope for a summer release but I think its going to be 12 to 15 months for the next iPhone.

I think the 4's long life cycle was a deliberate choice. Even with supply constraints I think they could have launched this months ago since it is largely just a conglomeration of parts they already used in other products. It seems to me they didn't want to end the life of a perfectly successful smart phone that was still selling well. I mean they even released the white version only a few months ago.

On second thought, that point should have probably been the biggest clue we were getting and iPhone that looked like the 4. Why spend the time and money making a white one if you are just going to change the way it looks I 6 months? They did it because they knew all along the work they were doing was going to be used for the next iPhone as well. Hind sight is 20/20 I guess.
 
brendu said:
Check your FACTS. It is not a FACT that Sprint signed an EXCLUSIVE deal with Apple. That was speculation and it is pretty obvious they made a deal but it is anything but EXCLUSIVE. Everything else looks okay though.
Click to expand...

Well, we do not know yet. BGR reported an EXCLUSIVE agreement, but this is for the mythical iPhone 5, so it may be true.

So it is a plausible, but I am not gonna bet on it.

ericg301 said:
not going to happen. apple didn't wait 16 months to update the iPhone, only to update it again in 6 months.

the iPhone5 cases were based on a stolen prototype. some theories say apple leaked it themselves, to try to find who in the supply chain is selling them out.

why would apple let t-mobile carry the iphone, when t-mobile is in the middle of trying to be bought by AT&T?
Click to expand...

First, the 4S is an "speed bump", much like the the 3GS is to the 3G.

Second, the 4 format is already 15 months old, Apple will not get a lot of sales no matter how awesome its guts are (because it LOOKS old!).

Third, the AT&T + T-Mobile deal was blocked by SEC, and it is very unlikely to happen, and Deutch Telecom needs iPhone to sell T-Mobi (who want a service with no iPhone?)

Interesting suggestion about a fake design, but what benefit it is to Apple? There are few, maybe very few, produces Apple can choose to make phones.

Well, I adjust my first prediction to March, perhaps at same time with iPad 3
 
12 months from now, max. Another 15 months? What are you people smoking! The real reason for the 15 month wait is, so far, known only to Apple but it's clearly going to be an October or July cyle from now, most likely the former.

I'd be flabbergasted if it was 6 months, probably loads of stupid rumours about to kick in about this ala the imaginary iPad 3 in 2011.
 
Error Type -43 said:
History shows the major refresh is every two years which is why rumors of an iPhone 5 surprised me in the first place. I'm betting on its actual release to be summer-fall 2012.
Click to expand...

A Feb 2012 launch is 21 months,
March is 22 months
April is 23 months
June 24 months, 2 years (and start of summer)

Seems just about right, then. :)

---
I realized an error, the 3GS was out a year before 4.

That is wrench in works.
 
Last edited:
Mindless Conjecture...

Would it make since to release an iPhone 5 with possibly A6 and iOS 6? no. With that said I believe WWDC will be hardware just like this year it was about software. But who knows.
 
Mr.C said:
Not going to happen. The next iPhone won't be released until at least July next year.
Click to expand...

If the 4S doesn't meet the sales projections, they will definitely push to go back to a July launch for next year to get things back on track
 
Summer. By then we'll have a new batch of 4G chipsets and 4G coverage will be widely available for Verizon and AT&T customers.

Plus Apple will have an idea of what frequency bands Sprint's rumored LTE network will be running on.
 
Correction, the iPhone 3GS came out in June of 09'. The 3G came out in July of 08'. Why did Apple wait an extra 4 months? I guarantee we won't see the iPhone 5 till October of 2012.
 
I actually think there is an outside chance it could be 2013-apple is not gonna touch 4G chips until either

A) the heat they produce won't make the iphone a boiler plate and last longer than 3 hrs with all settings on or

B) they can find someone to make a small enough chip to accomplish A
or

C) 4G is more common place, though this is more up to the providers than Apple.


I think C will make Apple wait. They don't want people in Philly to be able to get 4G but people in Miami can't (I picked random cities-I have no knowledge if these two have 4G on any carrier at all).
 
ericg301 said:
not going to happen. apple didn't wait 16 months to update the iPhone, only to update it again in 6 months.

the iPhone5 cases were based on a stolen prototype. some theories say apple leaked it themselves, to try to find who in the supply chain is selling them out.

why would apple let t-mobile carry the iphone, when t-mobile is in the middle of trying to be bought by AT&T?
Click to expand...

Yes, This +1
 
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