The Apple iPhone 5, as the highly anticipated smartphone is commonly called, will feature revolutionary hardware enhancements and a September 2012 release date, an industry analyst said this week.
Apple is expected to ramp up fourth quarter production to meet unprecedented demand leading into next year, the analyst said.
With new features that “stand to reaffirm the iPhone as the leading smartphone in 2013,†said J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz, Apple will likely sell a record number of the new iPhone 5 when it is released in the fall.
The iPhone 5 has not been officially announced or named, and Apple has repeatedly said it does not comment on rumors.
However, Apple’s new iPhone is expected to incorporate 4G LTE connectivity, in part because of recent carrier activity consistent with such plans. Wireless company C Spire, based in Ridgeland, said last week for instance it is making steady progress toward introducing its new 4G LTE network, with plans to debut it in September.
Many industry watchers have considered C Spire’s plans a sign of when Apple might release its new iPhone, dubbed in pop culture as iPhone 5.
The new service will be the first in the state to provide 4G speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G to 20 Mississippi markets covering 2,700 miles, the company has said. C Spire plans to offer the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone to utilize 4G, but since C Spire is also an iPhone carrier, its planned launch of its new 4G LTE network fits with Moskowitz’s September release date expectation for Apple’s new iPhone.
Verizon also recently announced its expansion of 4G LTE in Mississippi.
If Moskowitz is right, the carriers won’t be disappointed, since he thinks Apple has another mega-winner with a forthcoming addition to its iPhone lineup, already the world’s bestselling smartphone with more than 120 million units sold since launching exactly five years ago today.
"We think that a combination of revolutionary hardware enhancements and software-driven services (i.e. Passbook, Maps, FaceTime over cellular) stand to reaffirm the iPhone as the leading smartphone in 2013," Moskowitz wrote in a research note to clients.
Soon after legendary Apple co-founder and longtime CEO Steve Jobs died in late 2011 came reports that he was very involved in development of the iPhone 5, or Apple’s next iPhone. That involvement, which led to what is said to be a complete and radical redesign including a larger screen and different form factor, has some some like Moskowitz suggesting that the next iPhone could be an instant classic, easily eclipsing past Apple sales records.
Apple unveiled its latest iPhone, the iPhone 4S on October 4, 2011. It immediately broke the global smartphone sales record, but the next day - October 5 - Jobs died after a long battle with cancer. He was said to be involved in discussions about the new iPhone in his last days with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
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