As Apple gears up for its WWDC 2013 to be held in San Francisco from June 10 to June 14, word's on the street that the company will release the rumored iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 in late September. Or at least that's what Chris Whitmore, an analyst with Deutsche Bank Equity Research, said or is reported to be saying.
According to an IBTimes report, in his investors note, which was released on June 5, Whitmore revealed that Apple has already started placing orders for the smartphones' components and production of the new iPhone units is said to begin in August.
"Our checks indicate orders for the new iPhone are starting now for longer lead-time components. Specifically, we believe Apple is currently placing component orders for iPhone volume manufacturing to ramp in the August timeframe, suggesting they're on pace for a late September launch," said Whitmore in the note.
The analyst also scoffed at the notion that Apple would unveil any iOS-powered hardware at the WWDC, saying that "We don't anticipate any meaningful iOS hardware announcements at WWDC."
However, Whitmore opined that the iOS could get a refresh and was "due for a material upgrade in order to freshen and reinvigorate the 'cool' factor around Apple's products."
"The general look and feel of iOS is six years old and is in desperate need of an update and some spark. It seems clear that Jony Ive's fingerprints will be all over iOS 7, which we expect to be the most significant iOS upgrade from a visual perspective," opined Whitmore.
Recently, we reported that the iPhone 5S could pack in double the resolution of the iPhone 5's Retina display. Concepts of the 4.8-inch iPhone 6 touting a curved display and a 3D camera have also emerged online, fueling speculations of what the Apple smartphone may look like. Rumors have also hinted at the iPhone 6 housing the faster A7 processor and 2GB of RAM.
With Apple CEO Tim Cook letting on that no new products will be launched before fall, the September estimation by Whitmore for the iPhone refresh seems a plausible one. However, would Apple launch both iPhone 5S as well as iPhone 6 at the same time? Of course not. An iPhone 5S/6 (possibly iPhone 5S, if Apple continues with its iPhone naming convention) and a low cost/entry level iPhone maybe, but definitely not iPhone 5S and iPhone 6. Interestingly, IBTimes failed to quote (conveniently, perhaps) Whitmore as saying that iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 will come in September, though the story's headline suggests otherwise. So, we'll just dump it in the growing pile of iPhone-related rumors that's gathering in the blogosphere.
