If you’re heading out the door to buy a shiny new iPhone 5, you might want to consider holding off. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Apple will soon put the phone’s successor, the iPhone 5S, into production. It will supposedly launch sometime this (Northern Hemisphere) summer.
This is in line with previous reports that said the iPhone 5S would arrive in June, July, or August (depending on who you ask).
This report doesn't go into detail about the iPhone 5S' features, but a prominent analyst previously said he expects it to sport a fingerprint sensor, an A7 chip (duh), and something called "Smart Flash," for adjusting the camera's flash on the fly.
The S series continues
Unless Apple is planting some leaks to seriously throw everyone off (unlikely), the company will stick with its now-familiar S-series pattern. Redesigned model in even years (iPhones 3G, 4, 5), physically identical model with internal upgrades in odd years (iPhones 3GS, 4S, and 5S).
Is this wise? In previous S-series release years, Apple didn’t have a competitor like Samsung. Though Apple still rakes in the most profits, Samsung is moving more units. Maybe more importantly, though, the Galaxy series is quickly becoming a household name – capturing the kind of brand recognition that Apple previously dominated.
There’s nothing wrong with the iPhone 5’s design. Apple could do much worse than a second phone with its exterior. The 5S will sell in bunches no matter what Apple stuffs inside.
But the market has changed since 2011’s iPhone 4S. It will be interesting to see if another S-series phone can capture customers’ imaginations the way Apple expects every iPhone to.
More budget iPhone chatter
The WSJ report also doubles down on earlier reports that the mythical budget iPhone will launch later this year:
- The 4-inch device will likely use a different casing from the higher-end iPhone. Apple has been working on different color shells for the phone but its plans remain unclear.
A budget iPhone could help Apple’s market share, and it would also be a big-time advantage in China – where many customers buy their smartphones off-contract.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
