Digitimes claimed back in May that Largan Precision could become the main supplier of eight-megapixel lens modules for Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5. Now a report today from Taiwan Economic News claims that not only Largan Precision Co., Ltd., but also Genius Electronic Optical Co., Ltd will both be supplying Apple for their next-gen iPhone with orders expected to be placed soon.
“The two companies are reported to continue supplying lenses for Apple’s newest iPhone 5 with an 8-megapixel camera. With relatively higher production yield, Largan, commanding nearly 20% of the global market, will reportedly garner a big order from Apple.”
MacRumors has posted renderings of the iPhone 5 based off information sent to third-party case developers. The measurements are 4.33″ x 2.36, which compares to the iPhone 4’s dimensions of 4.5″ x 2.31″. Along with the mock-up above, MacRumors also got their hands on a purported iPhone 5 case.
If these cases are correct (seen after the break), they point to the iPhone 5 packing a larger 4-inch screen, compared to the iPhone 4’s 3.5-inch. But, earlier reports contradictMacRumors, saying the iPhone 5 will feature a screen closer to 3.5″.
You may remember our case reports from July which showed the iPhone 5 having a longer and wider design. Macitynet.it also posted their case findings yesterday, which match up closely to MacRumors’ and 9to5mac’s findings. But again, there are those who claim the iPhone 5 will have a 3.5″ screen.
At any rate, why would case manufacturers begin spending millions of dollars to build these cases without any definite knowledge? Could the 3.5-inch design be the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 be slightly larger than 4-inches? Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 5 later this month, and the phone is planned to go on sale either October 7th or October 14th, with pre-orders starting around a week before.
Discovered by This is my next, an internal Best Buy document points to an ‘Apple Fixture Installation’ Friday, October 21st. Interestingly, this date lines up with the mid-October range that’s being tossed around for the iPhone 5 release.
This is my next’s source says that a manager being at the store at 6 A.M. to open the doors is out of the ordinary, seeing as they usually get there at 7 A.M. The source also said that this similar procedure happened with the iPhone 4 launch. Best Buy managers have a meeting scheduled on October 10th to talk “upcoming BIG release dates”. Sounds fishy, huh? If these reports and precedent are correct, we can expect the device to land early Friday morning.
Apple is rumored to be hosting a press event at the end of September where they’ll announce the iPhone 5, and officially release iOS 5. You’ll remember our report that Apple will release the iPhone 5 October 7th, which is also a Friday. In terms of carriers, WSJ is reporting that Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint will be getting their hands on the device.
Also, of note: October 23rd (Sunday) will be the tenth anniversary of the introduction of the iPod. Video after the break:
Sprintfeed is reporting sources have confirmed Sprint intends on increasing the early termination fee for smartphone, tablet, and notebook users to $350, up from the current $200. The proof comes from the leaked internal document above. This follows evidencethe carrier will get Apple’s next iPhone at launch and a story claiming Sprint employees have been told not to discuss the upcoming device.
The change probably wont affect current Sprint users hoping to upgrade to a possible new iPhone, as the new fee will only take effect for contracts signed after September 9th. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more. Expand Expanding Close
A report from Digitimes claims that, although touch panel orders from the iPhone and iPad 2 have increased significantly for the third quarter, Apple is allegedly placing orders at nearly half the cost of previous shipments. This leads us to believe they are either trying to reduce BOM (and increase margins) at the expense of suppliers, or they’re prepping for the usual price cuts in the wake of new product releases (iPhone 5, we’re looking at you).
The report notes:
Wintek has received touch sensor orders from Apple at prices nearly 50% lower than the ones previously offered by the client. The impact of Wintek’s low-margins is expected to ripple out to other downstream players
The move is expected to result in lower than usual profit-margins for the supplier and also affect other suppliers down the chain. The report is also quick to point out that “Wintek has previously rejected low-margin orders from Apple”. We’ll keep you posted as more becomes available.
It appears that Apple is now putting an LTE 4G-capable iPhone or iPad through the usual carrier testing. The proof comes from a .plist hinting at “LTE” (discovered by BGR) in an internal iOS test build that is allegedly from “one of Apple’s major carrier partners”. Of course at this point we don’t know whether this is the iPhone 5 (iPhone 4S variant?) or even a new iPad, but its a good sign that the company has plans to take advantage of 4G LTE networks in the future… even if it isn’t the iPhone 5 “worldphone” you might be hoping for.
This wouldn’t be the first time Apple prototyped a device to take advantage of the latest carrier networks.
According to several sources, and as has been widely expected, Apple will once again be holding its annual autumn special event, closer to mid-September this time. Apple (AAPL), which has had a fall hello-there confab every year since 2005, waited until August 31 last year to announce its “Let’s Rock” event on September 9 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco.
The event turned out to be on September 1st. – 9 days earlier, rather than later, than the previous year’s September 9th launch.
With that in mind, AllThingsD‘s Kara Swisher lashed out at bloggers belligerently this evening (right) saying the iPhone 5 event would be held in “Oc … to … ber”, not September as had been forecasted and then shot down earlier today.
She didn’t take kindly to attempts at clarification. She cited a previous AllThingsD report which said the iPhone 5 would launch in October.
For the record, we do believe that the iPhone 5 will launch in October.
At this point, it is a good to keep in mind that Apple’s release schedules are fairly fluid and any forecasting is dangerous because of unforeseen setbacks that can delay launches.
We’ve been hearing so much about the new iPhone 5 that it has all but drowned out any talk of the iPods, which are traditionally released at the September Apple event as well. There hasn’t been any definitive word, but I expect them to get an update as well before the holiday shopping season.
The new iPod touch will likely head in the same direction as the iPhone 5 – faster A5 processor and better backside camera (hopfully 3MP w/ autofocus?) etc. I don’t expect a lot of innovation on what is already a pretty incredible little device. Perhaps a $199 entry level price tag (a $30 drop – which we already see quite often) will be the marquee new spec.
The iPod classic wasn’t upgraded last year and wasn’t on the keynote slide (below) where Steve Jobs said “we’ve got All-new designs for every model” which kind of makes it feel dead to me.
The final dimensions of the new design are calculated to be: 4.33″ x 2.36″ and .27″ thickness at the top and .21″ at the bottom In comparison, the iPhone 4 dimensions are: 4.5″ x 2.31″ x .37″. So the new design is actually shorter than the existing iPhone 4, but slightly wider and thinner.
In case you haven’t noticed, a rumored Fall release of iPhone 5 is being preceded by the usual media brouhaha. Is Apple going to release its next handset in September? How about October? Maybe they’ll gradually bring the device to market over the course of both months? Has the company already field-tested the gizmo in June? And if the phone is already in production, how come carriers are only now getting prototypes in sealed boxes? Do case leaks mean a ringer switch has been repositioned to the opposite side? And what’s with those iPhone 4 price cuts at Target and Radioshack and AT&T vacation blackouts?
Disregarding all of the above for a second, what exactly about Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone is going to blow our socks off the most? If you ask Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu, it’s the large display combined with an even thinner profile than iPhone 4:
It turns out that we are picking up that this interim iPhone refresh in the Fall timeframe could be a bigger upgrade than we expected. We believe this makes sense to improve the iPhone experience without making it too bulky as we have seen with models from competitors.
But what exactly is ‘bulky’ these days? Are we talking a few millimeters larger display or ‘Android superphone bulky’? Italian-language MelaBlog.it did a cool side-by-side comparison of the current-generation iPhone 4’s 3.5-inch display and the rumored iPhone 5 at various display dimensions. An iPhone 5 with a 4.3-inch display would require a frame wider and taller ten millimeters than that of the iPhone 4, while keeping the same 9.3 millimeter profile. Reducing the display edges “to a minimum” – that’s an edge-to-edge display for you – could allow Apple to engineer a monstrous 4.7-inch device, as depicted in the above drawing. There’s just one problem, though (plus, a cool reader mockup below the fold)…
Following our post with images of a purported iPhone 5 case, other sources like TechCrunch andOnlinelpnprogram.net have followed up with us with their own cases. This time we not only have a silicone case, but a hard case, too. The image above shows a top view of both of our cases. They both show a ringer switch on the opposite side of the volume keys, which is a shift from previous models of the iPhone. In addition, the bottom of these cases have holes for a separate speaker, main microphone, and USB dock connector. You may have noticed this on our iPhone 5 case post earlier this week, but today comes the more important information.
Our images were admittedly not very clear about the case’s thinness or if there was a “tear drop” as previously described by This is my next. Our new images are clear and there are appears to be a slight – not major – tear drop in the design. The case goes thick to thin from top to bottom. In addition, the sources who provided us with these two new cases have shared some dimensions. According to them, the case is 5 inches tall and 2.8 inches wide. These are tight cases so the iPhone 5 dimensions should only be a few millimeters smaller than those numbers. For comparison, the iPhone 4 is 4.5 inches tall and 2.31 inches wide. This likely will leave room for the rumored bigger screen, as reported by the WSJ, Bloomberg, and This is my next.
Although we are not able to absolutely confirm that these cases will fit the fifth-generation iPhone, the sources of these cases stress that the information used for design and manufacturing came from their own proven industry sources…Sources like the ones that provided amazingly accurate iPad 2 information and dimensions to case manufactures months before the product’s March debut. These cases are also just appearing weeks ahead of the iPhone 5’s debut. With the iPhone 5 most certainly in production, it is prime time for insider leaks to occur in Asia.
Last evening, a tipster sent us some pictures of what he now thinks is the iPhone 5. He caught what he said was likely an Apple employee hunched over the device on the way home from work in San Francisco earlier this week. He told us he was able to get a very good look at the device but the pictures he snapped “didn’t do it justice”.
We contacted the tipster by phone and checked his background. We believe he saw a totally new Apple device, probably a prototype iPhone 5. He contacted us because when he got home, he doubted what he saw was legitimate until he looked at the green cases we posted. Then it all came together for him. Our tipster has had an iPhone 3GS and currently has an iPhone 4. He knows his iPhones and iPods and this was like nothing he’s ever seen. He said it would fit perfectly into the case below.
“Almost EVO-like” in screen size, this iPhone also appears thinner than the current iPhone 4 but also wider. The edges are rounded metal like the edges of a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 but could still function as an antenna. The back is a curved/tapered glass or plastic. He couldn’t tell but if he had to guess he’d say glass. He said it looked too amazing to be built by anyone besides Apple (fanboy!).
Our tipster wasn’t able to see the front/home button and the man holding the device was covering the Apple logo for all but a brief moment when the above picture was snapped. It seemed apparent that he was trying to hide what he had more than the average smartphone user.
We aren’t certain if this is legitimate or not but it is too thin and flat to be an iPhone 3GS and too rounded to be an iPhone 4. The black back with Apple logo would seem to rule out an iPod touch. Our tipster is all but certain it was a new Apple product and the iPhone 5 would be the most likely scenario.
Would Apple let employees out into the world with these over a month before launch? Apple has acknowledged that they real world test this way in the past (ahem, Gray Powell). They’ve also indicated that the cases the iPhone 4s came in may have been a factor in not diagnosing the finger spot/antennagate fiasco ahead of time. So perhaps this is legit?
According to a report (via MR) from The China Times, the iPhone 5 will launch the second week of September (6-15), and the iPad 3 launch will be delayed until Thanksgiving due to component issues. This iPhone 5 report lines up nicely with reports from Reuters regarding a September launch and an earlier report saying right after Labor day (Sept 5th).
If a September launch were to be the case, we assume the iPhone 5 would be announced at Apple’s annual music event in September. Obviously, iOS 5 would accompany it. The China Times’ report regarding a fall launch for the iPad 3 trails behind with what we’ve already heard.
According to our source, Apple will indeed be launching a prepaid / lower cost iPhone this year. We are told the handset will retail for no more than $350 without contract. Ready for the really interesting part? It’s entirely possible that the low-cost iPhone will in fact be the iPhone 3GS.
The author theorizes that “there would be an iPhone 4S in addition to the prepaid iPhone 3GS available within the next month to two” in addition to the iPhone 4 which BGR is told Apple will continue to sell…
A new report from Cnet.co.uk seems to imply that Apple could launch a new iPhone on August 16th. Their source? A job posting for temporary workers who would work the last two weeks in August.
The job listing, posted by Gekko Ltd., says Apple is looking for a “full-time iPhone Sales Staff for an exciting project to work 5 days a week (Tuesday-Saturday) for the period 16th August – 29th October within key retail stores”. Oddly enough, Apple didn’t post the listing on their own, rather hiring out Gekko Ltd. to find their new Apple Store talent. Gekko appears to have worked with Apple before:
The awards page on Gekko’s website indicates that it has worked with Apple in the past on shops within shops — the specific Apple-branded sections within larger outlets. We’d wager that Gekko is hiring to fill these sections, as one of the responsibilities of the advertised role is to “ensure the Apple area within the store is effectively merchandised”.
Rumors pointing to a September or early October launch for the new iPhone have been prevalent so far with Apple’s traditional early September music announcement, but we’re happy to line up early. Full listing below: Expand Expanding Close
Although the previous generation iPod nano had curved glass (it wasn’t universally loved), the Samsung Nexus S was the first mainstream smartphone with curved glass. If Digitimes is right, the iPhone 5 may be the second (and likely more popular).
…the latest being circulated around the supply chain in Taiwan is that Apple is going to adopt a curved cover glass for its next generation model, according to industry sources.
That would seem to fly in the face of recent reports that the iPhone 5 would be very similar to the iPhone 4 in appearance. Digitimes has found what they think is anecdotal evidence.
However, in order to push forward the production of curved glass, Apple reportedly has purchased 200-300 glass cutting machines to be used by glass makers, said the sources.
The glass slicing machines are currently being stored at associated assembly plants and will be brought online once yield rates for the production of curved glass reaches a satisfactory level, the sources revealed.
Although Samsung is a competitor wrapped in lawsuits with Apple, it is also a major supplier and obviously has experience with curved glass screens. Expand Expanding Close
Welcome to the new media order, as described by Nielsen — a new world in which US mobile phone Web users almost eclipse the number of US homes with a TV; a world in which Apple’s iPhone accounts for three of the top ten smartphones used and more. Expand Expanding Close
