According to the latest predictions, Apple’s September 12 launch of the iPhone 5 will be the biggest in history, at least according to Peter Misek from Jefferies research. The firm is predicting that Apple will have about 15 million iPhone 5 devices in inventory by mid-September, enough to satisfy at least the initial demand.
The company also noted that more than 600 million smartphone users will be coming out of their contracts by the end of 2013 and that a generous share of those will want new iPhones.
There is almost certainly a pent-up demand for the new iPhone. In fact, the advent of the iPhone is being blamed for a fall in smartphone sales in the second quarter of 2012. According to a Gartner study, smartphone sales globally were off 2.3 percent during that quarter. While the weak European and Asian economies likely played a part in that slump, Gartner said that users were also postponing upgrades so they could buy the new iPhone 5 when it comes out.
But the only way for Apple to sell as many iPhone 5 devices as it hopes to is to make it really compelling, and that means really refreshing the iPhone, not just coming out with yet another minor update as has been the case in the past. Let’s face it, all that Apple has done so far during the life of the iPhone is release small incremental upgrades. Last year’s iPhone 4S wasn’t all that different from the previous iPhone 4, for example.
The lack of a major step forward is going to be a problem for Apple unless the iPhone 5 has the technology and ease of use of its Android and Windows competitors. The screen size is a good example. The iPhone 4S has a screen that has a very high resolution display, but it’s smaller than the Android phones with which it competes. It is also smaller than the screen on the latest Nokia Windows Phone devices.
Fortunately, it appears that Apple has tried to remedy this problem by adopting a screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, which is the same shape as the screen on your HDTV or a widescreen laptop. But will it be larger in any dimension other than width? That’s not clear.
Larger screens are a fact of life. As phones are designed to consume more and more Web content, display videos, act as e-readers and otherwise perform more screen-intensive tasks, most people need (or at least want) a larger screen. So far, Apple hasn’t delivered.
Likewise, Apple needs to adopt current communications technologies. That means supporting HSPA+ at high speeds, having Wi-Fi connectivity at least as good as that of Samsung phones and most of all, supporting LTE. As carriers abandon 2G, the iPhone needs to be fully functional on 3G and 4G, with 4G rapidly becoming a must.
Of course, the necessity to support LTE helps explain why the iPhone 5 will be a larger device than the iPhone 4S. It needs room for the LTE radios and for the additional antennas. Of course, there needs to be a way to provide enough power to run a larger Retina display as well as the LTE radios through a typical work day. That means larger batteries.
So that’s what you can expect when Tim Cook rolls out the iPhone 5 (assuming they call it that, and not something dumb like the “New iPhone.”) You’ll see a larger phone with a bigger, clearer screen, support for LTE and some other new features. It’s possible, for example, that the new iPhone will have a fingerprint reader built into the Home button, something that will help secure the new Passbook app. It will also prevent people from being killed for their iPhones.
Yes, that’s correct. People have been brutally murdered by criminals who want their iPhones in New York, Los Angeles, Washington and London. Perhaps if the crooks knew that the phone couldn’t be used afterwards, the temptation to steal the magic smartphone would be reduced.
You may also find that with the iPhone 5 release Apple abandons its carrier-specific deals. Right now this keeping many carries, such as T-Mobile in the US, from selling iPhones to their customers. The only way around this is to buy an unlocked iPhone that works on GSM networks. If your CDMA carrier doesn’t sell iPhones, you’re out of luck.
But while all of these features and market practices may make sense, will we see any of them? The larger form factor is a pretty safe bet. The LTE support is likely and the larger battery is also likely. But otherwise it depends on just how badly Apple wants to innovate and that’s up to Tim Cook.
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Really? There are really still people out there writing articles like this? techweekeurope - please hire some real journalists
Another similar article fielded a comment along the lines of the iphone being like the Porsche 911, a design classic that does not require complete rethinking every iteration, only refining and updating. Its the best comment I've read on this matter so I'm repeating it :-)
Trouble with the Porsche analogy is that 911 doesn't sell in massive numbers like the iphone currently does. If Apple want the iphone to be the best of the best only sold to the elite then it is a bit like a Porsche, but that would be to piss away its current market dominant position.
In reality a better analogy is comparing one of the big executive German car manufactures (Apple) with Ford (Android) and both companies rely on moving their designs along both technically and aesthetically.
'unless the iPhone 5 has the technology and ease of use of its Android and Windows competitors' ......... pointless stating this...... of course it will.
android easy to use, now so more than ever but this is something that IOS has been renowned for since its inception.
it's good to see that android has finally bought something to the party with jelly bean and project butter. I've always been an apple man but i last night ordered a nexus 7.
Apple needs to make major changes to their iPhone. I'm losing interest. The iPhone is looking dated. Looks old. I too am going to purchase the Nexus seven. Jellybean works for me. IPhone quit working for me. I'm losing interest in the product.
There are two things that don't seem to be getting much mention.
The first is the real reason the ip5 needs to succeed, which is that if it comes across as lacklustre in any way, the public and media perception will be that the disappointment is due to the loss of Steve Jobs (even if, as has been widely reported, he had a fair amount of input to the ip5 before his death). This will have extremely detrimental knock-ons for the apple leadership as well as the rest of their future product line.
The second issue not being talked about is that one of the main failings of the recent iphones is in the lack of development of iOS. While android and WP7 OSs have improved with new features and better approaches for displaying personal info, iOS has stuck with the same old small icon/red number notification layout its had for a decade. It may have looked/felt flash in the past, but we're talking about the fastest moving tech market in the world. If they dont significantly revamp iOS soon its going to start hurting...
Personally, judging from what ive seen and the rumours ive read, i would think twice about investing in apple right now.