Yesterday we told you about the report that Apple was set to unveil the iPhone 5 at its next media event on October 4th. What the report didn’t address was the iPhone 4S rumor and how the rumors of two new iPhone models fit into the puzzle.
Reportedly, Apple will only unveil one iPhone this year, and it won’t be the mysterious, ‘teardrop’ iPhone 5 that we’ve all been hoping for.
Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair told BGR in a note to investors that Apple will in fact introduce the iPhone 4S next month. The device will supposedly be a slight upgrade from the iPhone 4, with better specs and a slight redesign.
“We expect the focus of the new iPhone will be iOS 5, a speedier A5 processor and a higher resolution 8 MP camera with a small possibility of a larger 4 inch screen,” Blair wrote. “We believe the casing will be largely similar to the iPhone with some particular modifications to the antennae [sic]. We don’t expect a second, dramatically different iPhone to accompany this as we don’t think Apple needs to have 3 models in the market to address the high end, mid-tier and low end since the iPhone 4 (with memory lowered to 8 GB) will drop to $99 and effectively attack those markets.”
Instead of a second iPhone, Wedge expects Apple to unveil a 3G iPod touch at its next event. He and his partners see the likelihood of Apple announcing two iPhones at once very unlikely.
“Why would Apple bump uponly the processor specs of the iPhone 4 in addition to a newly designed iPhone 5 if the goal is to sell it into the pre-paid market at a lower cost?” Blair wondered in his note. “A 4S would simply cost more and a 4S itself wouldn’t create a mid-tier market unless it was priced at $99 and the iPhone 4 went to $49 with the new iPhone at $199. We see this scenario as unlikely.”
While modified iPhone 4 part leaks have been abundant over the last few months, there has yet to be one significant parts leak that points to a redesigned iPhone 5.
An iPhone ’4S’ (it probably won’t be called that) and 3G iPod touch make sense to a degree, but one must keep in mind that Apple hasn’t held an iPhone announcement in a very long time. Will Apple introduce another iPhone in early-2012? Wouldn’t that screw over people that are locked into the carriers’ 2 year upgrade policy?
via CultofMac.com
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