AppleInsider Staff
Hit-or-miss Taiwanese publication Digitimes In a report on Tuesday backpedaled on its previous claims that Apple would be launching a cheaper, yet larger-screened, iPhone variant in 2013 to combat a growing low-end "phablet" market.
While DigiTimes reversed its original take on big-screen iPhone debut, the publication is hedging its bets and contends that Apple will eventually release such a handset, just not this year.
The report went on to agree with the The Wall Street Journal, which previously claimed that Apple is planning on releasing two separate iPhone models this year. In its piece, the WSJ cited sources as saying both a successor to the current iPhone 5 and a budget smartphone, possibly made of polycarbonate, would launch sometime in 2013.
Adding to Tuesday's rumor, DigiTimes noted that both the next-generation iPhone and rumored handset will feature in-cell touchscreen panels. The current iPhone 5 already boasts the advanced screen tech that allows for a thinner device by integrating touch sensing components within the LCD array. Yield rates of the complex displays caused supply constraints when the latest iPhone launched last year, but those production issues are said to have been corrected.
The latest rumor may be unfounded, however, as Apple is thought to have chosen older touchscreen tech, in addition to non-Retina resolution panels, with the iPad mini in attempts to capitalize on already slim margins. In-cell screens are not yet an industry standard and therefore substantially raise a device's bill of materials.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
28 Comments
dt;dr
why bother?
"Hey, guys, look at me, I'm an idiot!"
"… We don't care."
"Just kidding; I was only pretending to be an idiot!"
"…"
Anything to get AI's uncritical continuing coverage.
I totally disregard everything from DigiTimes so here are some facts: - iPhone 5 is selling better than any previous iPhone in the USA - iPhone 4 and 4S are also selling well in the USA - Android has the majority of the smartphone market in almost every other country - Apple continues to earn most of the profits in the mobile phone industry - Samsung is now making big profits - The Galaxy SIII is larger than any iPhone both in physical size and screen resolution - iPhone 4S uses the old 30-pin connector I think that the Galaxy SIII is the main source of Samsung's profits. I think that the iPhone 4S costs more to make than the iPhone 5 does. I think Apple wants to get rid of the 30-pin connector soon. Based on the above I believe that Apple is experimenting with three new phones: 1. iPhone 5S, the natural evolution of the existing iPhone 5 2. a repackaging of the iPhone 4S into a smaller, less expensive case with the Lightning connector This is consistent with taking the iPad 2 and stuffing it into a smaller, thinner case with a Lightning connector and renaming it iPad mini. I expect Apple to do this in 2013. 3. A larger high resolution iPhone designed to beat large Android phones. Such a device will be introduced if and only if Apple determines that selling two different sizes of new iPhone would be more profitable than continuing to sell just one. I'll believe it when I see it.