MacRumors: iPhone 5 to Start Production in September?

Monday April 11, 2011 12:22 PM EST; Category: iPhone
Written by Arnold Kim

BusinessInsider relays an analyst report from Avian Securities which claims that the iPhone 5 won't start production until September and that this suggests that next generation iPhone won't make it to the market until the end of the year or even early next. Supporting out comments over the last month, conversations with yet another key component supplier indicates that production for iPhone-5 will begin in September. This is consistent with Avian findings in the supply chain in recent months and we believe the consensus view is moving towards this scenario.

Avian cites "key component suppliers" as the source of the information. They also revive the possibility of a cheaper/lower cost iPhone also in the works, but no new details.

While some may tire of the on-again/off-again nature of these rumors, the information from Avian is consistent with previous claims that no new iPhone hardware would be coming in June as well as claims that due to part production timelines, the iPhone 5 won't be shipping until Fiscal 2012 (after September 2011).

MacRumors: White iPhone 4 to Finally Arrive By End of April [Updated]

Wednesday April 13, 2011 08:21 PM EST; Category: iPhone
Written by Arnold Kim

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple will finally deliver the white iPhone 4 by the end of April after a 10 month wait. The new version will be available from AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless by the end of April, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren't public. The release was stalled as Apple resolved manufacturing challenges, including paint that peeled under heat, one person said.

Bloomberg's sources reveal that the issue that had caused the delay involved the white paint peeling under heat. After the initial delays, Apple had said the white iPhone would ship by Spring 2011. The new model may help boost sales of the iPhone 4 which has been on the market since June of 2010. Bloomberg also confirms previous reports that Apple is not planning on introducing a new iPhone at WWDC, possibly waiting until later this year to introduce the iPhone 5.

Update: Reuters offers a similar update, claiming that the Apple has begun production on a white iPhone that will be released "within a month". Suppliers to Apple Inc have begun production of white iPhones after a delay of almost 10 months, pointing to a launch date of within a month, two people familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

Update 2: According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple has confirmed that the white iPhone delays are nearly over and reiterates its previous position that the device will be launched this spring. Apple Inc. said Thursday that delays keeping the white iPhone from store shelves are nearly ended and that the device is on track for spring release, reiterating the projection that the company made in October.

Apple declined to comment about which carrier would initially carry the white iPhone 4.

Apple Testing Three iPhone 5 Prototypes, One With Slide-Out Keyboard?

Monday February 14, 2011 05:00 PM EST; Category: iPhone
Written by Eric Slivka

Keyboard Buddy Case for iPhone 4
Taiwanese site Apple.pro reports (via AppleInsider) that Apple has been testing three separate prototypes for the fifth-generation iPhone, including one with a slide-out keyboard. There are three iPhone5 prototype
one is a sliding cover which
Is the introduction of the keyboard after the side cover

Other prototypes are said to be similar to the iPhone 4 except with an upgraded battery and apparently an 8-megapixel camera, up from the 5-megapixel sensor found on the iPhone 4's rear-facing camera. The report likens those prototypes to the transition from iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS, with the same basic design augmented primarily by improvements in the device's internals.

As for claims of a slide-out keyboard, the rumor seems incongruous with Apple's devotion to multi-touch functionality with on-screen virtual keyboards. Normally, we would simply cast such suggestions aside, but Apple.pro has a strong track record of providing leaked information from Apple's product pipeline. Most recently, the site posted photos of a small Apple-branded touchscreen that appeared a few months later in the company's latest iPod nano.

The site also notes several times that these are prototypes, suggesting that the model sporting a slide-out keyboard could simply a design put together by Apple for the purposes of testing out various form factors, and may never be intended for a public release.

Today's report from Apple.pro also reiterates ongoing claims that the next-generation iPad will be thinner and will carry at least one built-in camera.

Small iPhone to Have Edge to Edge Screen, Voice Navigation?

Sunday February 13, 2011 04:45 PM EST; Category: iPhone
Written by Arnold Kim

The Wall Street Journal has updated their previous story, adding some new details about the rumored smaller iPhone. The person who saw the prototype of the new iPhone said the device was significantly lighter than the iPhone 4 and had an edge-to-edge screen that could be manipulated by touch, as well as a virtual keyboard and voice-based navigation. The person said Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., also plans to upgrade the iPhone 4.

The new phone is said to have an "edge to edge" screen with (obviously) a touch interface. The one possibly new feature appears to be "voice navigation". Apple already offers some rudimentary Voice Control with the current iPhone, so it's not clear if this voice navigation is something really new. The newspaper also adds that the iPhone 4 is also expected to be updated.

iPhone 5 to Use a 4-Inch Screen?

Monday February 14, 2011 11:00 PM EST; Category: iPhone
Written by Arnold Kim

Samsung Galaxy S (4-inch screen) vs iPhone 4 (3.5-inch screen) via Emoiz
Rumors are flowing fast for the next generation iPhones. Digitimes is now claiming that the next generation iPhone will use a 4-inch screen to better compete with Google Android. The component suppliers noted that the production lines for Apple's next generation iPhone have begun testing, and Apple is interesting in expanding the screen size to 4-inches to support the tablet PC market as the vendor only has a 9.7-inch iPad in the market.

The news is interesting given the recent rumors of a smaller iPhone as well. The iPhone has always used a 3.5-inch screen since its launch, while several Android phones have launched at larger screen sizes.

Digitimes has a bit of an on-again off-again reliability with Apple-related rumors. They have certainly made some legitimate predictions, but has also detailed 7-inch iPad and 22-inch touch-screen iMac. It's believed that Apple prototypes several different designs for testing purposes but may also be the source of the some the false rumors we've seen in the past.

Rumors of iPhone 5, iPad 2 'Delays' Called Untrue [Updated]

Tuesday February 22, 2011 11:47 AM EST; Category: iPhone
Written by Eric Slivka

Over the past day, a pair of analyst reports have suggested that Apple's second-generation iPad and fifth-generation iPhone will see their launches delayed beyond their previously-planned windows, due in part to design changes and other "issues" with production.

But according to The Loop's Jim Dalrymple, these claims are simply untrue. While Dalrymple is careful to note that he doesn't know when the next-generation versions of Apple's popular iOS devices will ship, he says that any claims that Apple is experiencing internal "delays" are false and that everything is on time according to Apple's schedule. From what I've heard this morning both products are on schedule and will ship when they are supposed to. Only Apple knows exactly when that will be, but the products are not delayed.

Reuters is also reporting that claims of iPad delays are "not true".
In his report, Dalrymple goes on to note the phenomenon of "delays" for products that haven't even been announced. Consequently, it is important to differentiate between the expectations of the media and customers, which are widely discussed, and those of Apple's internal plans, which are much less well-known. It seems amazing that rumors of Apple missing product deadlines are running rampant when Apple hasn't even announced the product yet. The only deadlines that have been set are by the media, not Apple.

Having said that, the iPhone 5 and iPad 2 are not delayed.

Many observers have been looking forward to an iPad release in the same March-April timeframe seen last year, with the next-generation iPhone set to follow in its usual June-July launch window, and it appears that Apple may yet meet those external targets.

Update: Reuters has now published a brief article refuting the delay claims, and Barron's has added its voice to the growing chorus of denials.

iBooks 1.2.1 Detects Some Jailbreaks, Disables iBookstore Purchases in Response

Tuesday February 15, 2011 12:14 PM EST; Category: iPhone
Written by Eric Slivka

Social Apples details a change employed in an update to Apple's iBooks application released last week that detects whether a device has been jailbroken using one of several tools, and if the device has been found to be jailbroken, refuses to open content purchased from Apple's iBookstore. Since using the greenpois0n jailbreak, I have been unable to open some of my iBooks that I rightfully purchased from the iBook Store. I thought it was a problem with the downloaded books, so I re-downloaded them. That didn?t work so I removed the iBooks from my iPhone and re-sync?d them from my computer... still no luck. Then I stumbled on a tweet from @comex tonight that really blew my mind.

According to noted jailbreak author @comex, whenever a user attempts to open an eBook purchased from the iBookstore and containing digital rights management code, the new iBooks tries to run unsigned or improperly signed binaries as a test to see if the device is jailbroken. If those binaries run successfully, the device is flagged as having been jailbroken and the eBook refuses to open.

Users of devices jailbroken by one of the methods that allows Apple's test binaries to successfully run who attempt to open content purchased from the iBookstore are met with the following error message: There is a problem with the configuration of your iPhone. Please restore with iTunes and reinstall iBooks.

Restoring a device from iTunes obviously removes the jailbreak, again rendering the device in compliance with Apple's standards.

Apple's tactics are of course drawing some scrutiny from jailbreak fans, many of whom are pointing to recent actions by the U.S. government to explicitly allow jailbreaking. Consequently, Apple's move to prevent access to legitimately purchased iBookstore content just because the user attempts to view it on a jailbroken device is seen as interference with legal usage.

Update: Reports have clarified that the jailbreaking detection mechanism has been present since iOS 4.0 and is part of the fairplayd DRM check. It has only recently been generating attention as newer jailbreak methods such as greenpois0n have opened up Apple's restrictions enough to trigger the blocks.

No Fifth-Generation iPhone Launch Until September?

Tuesday February 22, 2011 09:53 AM EST; Category: iPhone
Written by Eric Slivka

Following close on the heels of analyst claims that Apple made last-minute design changes to the second-generation iPad that will see the device not launch until June, Business Insider now reports that FBR Capital Markets analyst Craig Berger is similarly predicting that the fifth-generation iPhone may not make an appearance until September. Berger writes, "For the iPhone 5, we continue to hear that a July launch is unlikely, with various casing suppliers and touch suppliers still ramping up, with some chip vendors not having yet received firm iPhone 5 orders, and with other sockets like the image sensor (most likely going to Omnivision exclusively, but with some potential for Sony to split that socket) still in flux. Given these factors, we think a September launch is more likely, off from Apple's traditional iPhone launch schedule, but giving the firm more time to enhance its next-generation instant communications on the phone."

Apple has released new iPhone models nearly like clockwork each year in June or July since the device's debut in 2007. Consequently, a September launch for the next-generation model would be a significant deviation from that trend, which Apple executives have acknowledged is part of an annual cycle of product releases.

One thing that is different during this year's cycle is mid-year product introductions, with the iPhone 4 making its way to Verizon earlier this month, and potentially offering a way for Apple to milk more life out of the device. But at least for the time being, that effect would only apply in the United States, as the CDMA device has not yet launched in other markets and many countries do not even offer significant CDMA-based networks on which the device could run. In a similar vein, Apple has said that it will be releasing the white iPhone 4 sometime this "spring", which could provide another boost to the line, although Apple has of course already delayed the device's launch several times and some observers are skeptical that it will ever see a release.

Still, we tend to take most research analyst claims with a grain of salt, as they tend to be wrong more often than right. But they do occasionally offer up accurate information from Apple's supply chain, and thus it bears watching to see if more independent claims of this nature begin to surface.

MacRumors: Verizon iPhone Sales Barely Topping AT&T iPhone Sales at Apple Stores?

BGR reports that sales of the Verizon iPhone have not quite lived up to Apple's and Verizon's expectations, offering exact unit sales data aggregated from five Apple retail store locations showing that Verizon iPhone only barely outsold the AT&T version over the Verizon device's first five days of availability. Below are unit sales totals from five Apple stores combined (including two very, very prominent Apple stores) showing both Verizon and AT&T iPhone 4 sales during the Verizon iPhone's first five days of availability:

- Thursday: Verizon = 909, AT&T = 539
- Friday: Verizon = 916, AT&T = 680
- Saturday: Verizon = 660, AT&T = 471
- Sunday: Verizon = 796, AT&T = 701
- Monday: Verizon = 711, AT&T = 618

According to the source, pre-orders for the Verizon iPhone came in at about 550,000. And the first few days of in-store availability did in fact see strong Verizon iPhone sales relative to the AT&T iPhone, but that performance quickly tailed off to the point where sales are nearly equal.

Many observers had expected a rush of customers heading from AT&T to Verizon as the new device debuted, even though most AT&T iPhone customers are still currently tied to contracts. But the new data shows that, at least at a handful of Apple stores, AT&T iPhones are selling nearly as quickly as Verizon ones even as the latter should be seeing a huge surge with its debut.

What would possibly have been even more interesting is to see a comparison of this data to sales at the same locations just prior to the Verizon iPhone launch, in order to see just how sales of the AT&T iPhone have been affected by the availability of the Verizon model and to get a gauge of how total U.S. iPhone sales have changed with the new dual-carrier arrangement.

The report also offers statistics on Verizon iPhone purchasers, presumably gathered by Verizon and/or Apple at the time of purchase. According to the report, 14% of Verizon iPhone purchasers were coming over from an AT&T iPhone, while 30% had been Android users and 25% had been BlackBerry users.

Update: According to Bloomberg, a Verizon spokesperson has said that the carrier is pleased with iPhone sales so far, but he declined to share exact sales figures until the company's next earnings report.

MacRumors: Smaller iPhone to Eliminate Storage, Rely on Cloud-Based Content?

\
Following up on recent reports of a smaller, cheaper iPhone, Cult of Mac claims that Apple will cut costs on the smaller iPhone in large part by drastically slashing the on-board memory of the device and relying on cloud-based content delivery. Apple decided to lose some of the memory, which is by far the most expensive component of the iPhone (up to one-quarter of the device?s cost, according to iSuppli estimates).

By "some" of the memory, we mean ALL of the memory. The iPhone nano will have no memory for onboard storage of media, our source says. It will have only enough memory to buffer media streamed from the cloud.

"I'm talking strictly storage memory here," said our source.

According to the report, the smaller iPhone would pull essentially all of its media through a revamped MobileMe service, reducing the need for significant on-board storage in the same way that the Apple has been able to slash storage on the second-generation Apple TV by shifting to a streaming model.

The report notes that some on-board storage would clearly be required for the operating system itself and other critical system data, including caching of data handed down from the cloud and perhaps storage of photos and videos taken by the device should it include a camera.

We also suspect that such a device would not be able to support the App Store, as Apps depend on locally-stored content, and would thus require significant modification to run from the cloud. Apple may avoid the potential user interface issues of a smaller, lower-resolution screen by simply not allowing third-party apps at all, and opting to use only built-in apps specifically designed for the smaller screen. But given the runaway success of the platform, it would still be surprising for Apple to shift away from an App Store-focused ecosystem for the new device.