Rumor: Apple to begin trial production of 'iPhone 5S' in December
A new, questionable rumor out of Taiwan claims that Apple plans to begin trial production of a so-called "iPhone 5S" in December.
The details come from a report in Chinese-language newspaper Commercial Times, which was translated by DigiTimes on Monday. It claimed that initial production volumes of the new version of the iPhone 5 are likely to fall between 50,000 and 100,000 units.
"Facing low yield rates in the production of iPhone 5, Apple has accelerated the certification processes for related parts and components for the iPhone 5S," The report said.
Both Commercial Times and DigiTimes have poor track records with respect to Apple-related rumors. For example, years ago the newspaper claimed Apple was buying 9.7-inch LCD displays to build its own netbook, but it turned out the screens were instead used for the iPad.
Monday's report also claimed that Apple is "likely to release a new version" of its iPad touchscreen tablet "a quarter later than the iPhone 5S." The report cited the display resolution of "its latest version of iPad" as being lower than expected, presumably a reference to the non-Retina display of the iPad mini.
Last month, Apple announced both the iPad mini with a 7.9-inch display, and a new fourth-generation iPad featuring a speedy A6X processor and new Lightning connector. But one well-connected insider has predicted that Apple will launch a lighter and thinner 9.7-inch iPad "as quickly as possible," since the fourth-generation iPad features the same weight and thickness as the third-generation model.
38 Comments
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How are Apple going to produce a behind orders phone and a to be ordered in a year phone at the same time.
Kinda like this, even though I just got the 5. Think I'll just upgrade every single version, instead of waiting two years for some contract to expire. Although I don't have a contract anymore (I buy at full retail) I guess this is the cheapest way of always having the latest version. This bi-yearly upgrade strategy will also silence the whiners that Apple doesn't use the latest tech in their products.
My guess is that this phone is a custom phone for China Mobile.
Why does Appleinsider even post this kind of garbage? People have been waiting for a month for their order to show up and Apple will begin production of the next phone? Give me a break.