Apple: Jefferies Sees ‘Enormous’ iPhone 5 Ramp, ‘iTV’

By Tiernan Ray

Jefferies Co.‘s Peter Misek this afternoon writes that his review of reports by various suppliers to Apple (AAPL) reinforce his view the company’s introduction of the next iPhone, the “iPhone 5,” will be “the biggest launch in handset history,” and that Apple is proceeding in building a television set.

Misek has a Buy rating on Apple shares and an $800 price target.

“Checks point to enormous CQ3 builds. Our guess is 50M to 60M units,” writes Misek, regarding iPhone 5, after looking at reported results of TPK, a Taiwanese maker of capacitive touch-screen technology, which on Wednesday reported Q1 results.

TPK seems to have lost business with Apple, he deduces from the company’s public remarks, from which he surmises the iPhone 5 will have novel features such as a thinner profile, and that it will be built in high volume come September:

TPK’s results [...] seemed to indicate a large customer was moving away from their technology. Given that Apple was working on inCell technology with two Japanese display companies we believe that TPK’s commentary and outlook as well as guidance from component makers into those two display companies indicate that Apple has unbelievably achieved yield on inCell. We thought this was a low probability event. Clearly this tells us a few things about the phone. First, it tells us that the iPhone 5 is likely to be materially thinner somewhere in the neighborhood of 20% thinner. We believe it also tells us that the screen is likely to be around 4″ versus the current 3.5″. We also believe that the screen could get a further DPI bump thanks to oxide display technologies which promises up to 50% more DPI. Based on assumed retained sockets and guidance from supply chain companies (many of which report monthly), we see enormous September quarter builds. Our guess is 50M to 60M units. We believe that the iPhone 5 is shaping up to be the biggest launch in handset history.

InCell technology has been a topic of some speculation of late, as Eric Slivka of MacRumors mentioned on April 22nd.

Whether Apple puts the device on sale in September or October should matter little, he writes, as in either case it will beat results in its fiscal Q4 or fiscal Q1.

And Misek notes that display makers, includingSamsung Electronics(005930KS), have been cutting TV unit forecasts in their estimates, but they are at the same time “citing likely sequential improvements in glass demand as well as pricing that is likely better than in CQ1″:

How can this be? Some of these companies were actually asked, and AUO on their call answered that new entrants and technologies that have been in the works should launch in H2. These will improve the TV demand picture, which they felt could grow low double digits. Also, of interest was the TWC call where management acknowledged new entrants into the TV market and said they were ready to open their APIs. We view this as a departure and opens up the possibility that Time Warner Cable could be a third distribution partner for iTV in conjunction with Verizon and ATT. We have also had specialty component makers (that include specialty HDTV components) that guided
better than expected.

Misek thinks Apple will make $167 billion in revenue and $47.47 per share in profit this year, ahead of the Street’s $162.3 billion.

Apple shares today are down $3.15, or half a percent, at $604.55.

Article source: http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2012/04/27/apple-jefferies-sees-high-volume-iphone-5-ramp-itv/?mod=BOLBlog

iPhone 5 Rumor Rollup for the Week Ending April 27

Network World
—
This week’s announcement and almost immediate sellout of Apple‘s Worldwide Developers Conference in June ignited anticipation for, well, awesome stuff related to iPhone 5.

This week: the war of the Home buttons, how to make the next iPhone really thin, blaming iPhone 4S buyers for “delaying” iPhone 5 and for making it, already, a dud.

You read it here second.

__________

“Though there are still hundreds of thousands of die-hard Apple-heads, a growing number of them are questioning the future of Apple, and just what the iPhone 5 release date will bring.”A A A A A ~ International Business Times, discovering and uncovering a Disturbing and Ominous Trend in the comments by two users on a Mac Rumors forum.

__________

iPhone 5 will have a redesigned Home button, and it will be round or maybe rounded square

In the iOSphere, it’s easy to lose a sense of perspective. All the talk about the wondrous Liquidmetal, and LTE, and quad-core processors obscures what is really important, what is really worthy of obsession.

The iPhone Home button.

WATCH OUT, APPLE: Samsung, Qualcomm positioned to dominate LTE patent wars

In a truly confused and confusing post at a website called Mobile Apps, we learn that the current iPhone’s round Home button will be redesigned to be … round in the Next iPhone.

The basis of the scoop by Vamien McKalin is a posting at the website of a Chinese replacement parts supplier, called Truesupplier, showing something labeled “OEM Apple iPhone 5 Home Button Key.” A steal at $8.99.

“There have been many rumors about the new iPhone 5, but this latest from the mill seems legitimate, and that is mainly because of the source,” McKalin writes, oblivious to the irony of the term “legitimate rumor.” He says the new button revealed by Truesupplier “looks different” from the current button: It has a “round design which looks similar to the iPhone icons we’ve come to love and hate over the years.” Therefore, “this might give us an idea on what the UI design could look like when the iPhone 5 hits store shelves later in the year.”

Rollup is a tad skeptical that the iPhone’s Home button is a reliable indicator of changes to the iOS user interface.

“TrueSupplier has images of a side by side comparison of both the rumored new button, and the one on the iPhone 4S,” he writes. But what the side-by-side images on the website actually seem to show are top and bottom views of the “new” button. But since both the existing and new buttons are round, it’s a bit confusing unless what McKalin means is that the “new” button is convex, instead of concave.

Continue Reading

Article source: http://www.cio.com/article/705246/iPhone_5_Rumor_Rollup_for_the_Week_Ending_April_27

iPhone 5: Make or break for Apple vs. Samsung?

By Jonny Evans

Apple’s [AAPL] iPhone 5 could be the most important smartphone release since the original iPhone, with the world watching to see if its introduction will help beat Samsung down from what Strategy Analytics and ABI Research agree is that firm’s number one position in the global mobile phone biz.

[ABOVE: Strategy Analytics figures, released this morning.]

Different wars

Analyst reports this morning mainly make infuriating reading for Apple’s iPhone team. Two out of three of these analyses put Samsung in number one position in terms of global smartphone and mobile phone sales.

The news may be gloomy for Apple, but it’s a living Hell for Nokia and RIM, the latter’s marketshare has fallen beyond redemption, while the former now knows it’s in the battle of its life.

In brief, the reports claim:

Strategy Analytics: Samsung’s first quarter put it ahead of Nokia in handset sales, and in front of Apple in smartphone sales.  Global smartphone shipments grew 41 per cent year-on-year to reach 145 million units in Q1 2012.
 
Samsung shipped 44.5 million smartphones and overtook Apple to become the world’s number one smartphone vendor by volume. Samsung and Apple together accounted for more than half of all smartphones shipped worldwide for the first time ever.

ABI Research: “The smartphone market delivered 142 million shipments in Q1 for a 38 per cent year-on-year gain and a -8.1 per cent sequential decline. Apple’s 35.1 million shipments were supported by sales in Asia-Pacific, while Samsung’s 83.4 million mobile phone..” (not just smartphone) “…sales displaced Nokia from the top position that it has held for over a decade.“

Dissent from IHS iSuppli: “Samsung in the first quarter overtook Nokia to become the world’s largest cellphone brand for the first time. However, Samsung remained in second place in the smartphone segment of the cellphone market, behind Apple.“

Bad news for Nokia, indeed

The three reports all agree that Nokia is spiraling downward toward its very own judgment day. That firm’s only hope seems to be to become the de facto gold standard for future Windows 8 smartphones. This at least will help it differentiate its products from the rest of the smartphone market, dominated as it is by a medley of Android players (principally Samsung) and Apple.

That Apple has been beaten from the smartphone crown will infuriate some in Cupertino’s iPhone teams. Samsung’s offerings are based on Google’s Android OS, and knowledge of this as a “stolen product” will not sit well within the company.

Even though it hasn’t been announced, released or hinted at, the iPhone 5 remains the biggest story in the smartphone sector, indeed, news on the purported device dominates the technology agenda.

This underscores just how important the new smartphone will be when it ships. The phone will likely be supported by inclusion of support for 4G, LTE, a much-improved version of Siri, quad-core processors, a much improved screen with graphics capabilities to match and inclusion of iOS 6 and iTunes music streaming, potentially over-the-air.

Open to question is whether the release will be enough for Apple to claw back its leadership position from its former ally, Samsung.

Apple should widen its offering

Part of Samsung’s offering is that it provides an array of different Android-powered devices at different price points and equipped with different functions. That being said, it would be interesting if analysts broke out data on smartphone sales by price point, as I have a hunch Apple is scooping the majority of sales at the top end of the market.

That’s the killer for Apple. It’s iPhone range has diversified to include the iPhone’s 4S, 4 and 3G, but that clearly hasn’t been enough to woo enough customers at the lower end of the sector.

This means pressure will be on the iPhone 5 to claw back or at the very least consolidate Apple’s second place position in the mobile market. And, to be fair, second isn’t a bad place to be for a company which only entered the sector in 2007. Despite which, first is better, so what can the company do?

Developing markets

Apple’s iPhone sales have been buoyed by the popularity of the device in the Asia-Pacific markets, principally China. Apple has previously articulated its strategy to embrace newly-emerging markets, particularly as its traditional (US/European) heartlands have begun to stall.

Emerging markets are different places. While premium-grade $1,000 smartphones such as the iPhone are evidently popular, many in these markets don’t aspire to anything much more than a feature phone. Sales of the latter class of device have propelled Samsung to a wider domination of the mobile phone industry. They are also reinforcing Nokia in its darkest of days.

It makes sense to me for Apple to at least consider the feature phone market. While the company won’t make a play for low-end mobile phone sales unless it thinks it can innovate within that space, there have been previous signs the company’s put a little thought into doing just that.

Earlier this month, Shaw Wu of Sterne Agee said: “We have picked up evidence since 2009 of Apple working with smaller, as well as larger screens ranging from 4-inches to 12-inches that could be used in a future iPad, iPod touch, and/or iPhone or even MacBook.“

Take the next step

Except, in the iPod nano, Apple is already working with even smaller screens. These screens already offer widget support. Some users wear them like a watch.

Perhaps its schemes such as these which occupied Apple CEO Tim Cook’s mind when he talked briefly about the estimated 2.5 billion mobile phones analysts expect to see sold in 2015. 37 million iPhone sales may be impressive, but what can the company do to invade this low end market?

He also said: “What seems large to me is the opportunity. So what we’re focusing on is the same thing we’ve always focused on, which is making the world’s best products. And we think if we stay laser-focused on that, and continue to develop to the ecosystem around the iPhone then we have a pretty good opportunity to take advantage of this enormous market,” he told Goldman Sachs.

Challenge, or opportunity?

Reading the tea leaves, to me it seems Apple has an opportunity to introduce a smaller, cheaper, connected communications device in order to scoop up sales in the feature phone space, particularly within emerging markets. The effect of such a move would be to widen its marketshare.

This would consolidate its position in the wider mobile phone industry, at a certain cost to its competitors, and, if executed correctly, would only enhance the appeal of its iPhone brand.

This could be wishful thinking, of course, but with Samsung now dominant in the smartphone and mobile space, it surely crosses Apple executive’s minds just how they can fight back against the new adversary.

How likely do you think it is that Apple will enter the low-end mobile phone space? Does it really need to, or are iPhone sales at the high-end of the market all the company should or could aspire too? Let me know in comments below.

Got a story? Drop me a line via Twitter or in comments below and let me know. I’d like it if you chose to follow me on Twitter so I can let you know when these items are published here first on Computerworld. 

Article source: http://blogs.computerworld.com/20093/iphone_5_make_or_break_for_apple_v_samsung

WWDC to introduce iPhone 5 for June launch?

Although leading speculation puts this year’s iPhone in customer’s hands come October, rumors continue to persist that Apple could introduce the iPhone 5 at this year’s WWDC event in San Francisco.

A Korean website speculates that Apple may introduce this year’s iPhone 5 during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which kicks off June 11 in San Francisco.

Apple broke from its early summer tradition for the current iPhone 4S, which was both announced and launched last October.

Forward thinking…

iPhone 5 release date, news and rumours

While pundits aren’t expecting a new iPhone until the same September-October timeframe this year, the Korean report sounds more confident that the iPhone 5 will be even thinner and lighter, thanks to the use of a new liquid metal casing for better protection.

“According to industry sources, the next flagship phones of [Apple and Samsung] are expected to adopt unprecedented materials for their main bodies, that is, ceramic for the Galaxy S3 and liquid metal for iPhone 5, both being thin, light and highly resistant to external impacts,” the report notes.

“The new phase of the rivalry is because neither one of them can get a decisive edge over the other solely with its OS and AP specifications, features or design.”

Enter liquidmetal

Back in August, 2010, Apple acquired the rights to “amorphous metal alloys” produced by Liquidmetal Technologies, and even hired engineers to continue work on the technology. Since then, however, the rumor trail has gone cold – until now.

There’s no solid evidence to support the Korean website’s claims, but with WWDC 2012 mere weeks away now, we won’t have long to wait to find out for ourselves.

Via Korea IT News

Article source: http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/wwdc-to-introduce-iphone-5-for-june-launch-1077838

IPhone 5 Release Date Rumors & Special Features

IPhone 5 Release Date Rumors Special Features

Apple’s next generation iPhone created a lot of buzz in the last few months. While we have seen some speculation going bizarre, some have more chances to be finally seen in the next iPhone or iPhone 5.

We have heard about at least hundreds of rumors about the most-awaited phone of 2012. But we have tried to be very discrete about choosing the best and most relevant features that are most likely to be seen and top our wish list.

Let’s check out the list

A Bigger Screen with Retina Display

Till date no iPhone has been bigger than a 3.5-inch. We, the ardent Apple lovers, never complained. But now that all smartphone makers are coming with bigger size (at times some odd 5-inch screen) screen, this time we hope to see a bigger iPhone. It seems we are not the only ones as rumors from all around the world are pouring, anticipating the size of the next generation iPhone.
A few days ago, Reuters reported that Apple would make its next generation iPhone bigger with a 4.6-inch display. But Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets declined the report and informed us that the next-gen iPhone could sport a 4-inch display. The same claim echoed by iMore editor-in-chief Rene Ritchie who said on April 5 that the iPhone 5 would retain its original 3.5-inch screen.

While we get to hear a host of rumors about the size of the phone, keeping in mind Richie’s track record of accurately predicting the iPhone 4S at the time when the world was expecting to see iPhone 5 gives him an advantage over others.

However, some other sources also claimed that iPhone 5 would feature a Quantum Dot LED curved glass edge-to-edge display with 1280 x 720 resolutions (367ppi).

3D Camera

While we cannot expect a revolution in terms of a bigger screen in Apple’s new iPhone 5, we can pin our hopes on a 3D camera.

Apple has recently invented a killer 3D Imaging Camera for iOS Devices. This 3D camera will apply to both still photography and video.

While 3D is no more a revolutionary technology in mobile devices, Apple is expected to tweak it and make it something new in iPhone 5.

According to Apple, the existing 3D cameras and video records can get three-dimensional information from objects but they are incapable of getting detailed information of the shapes, surfaces and depth of the objects. By using multiple sensors and cameras, Apple plans to use a series of systems, tools and methods to capture a 3D image and capture its geometric information relating to the surfaces of objects.

Apple’s ultimate aim is to capture light and image information in such a way that would create an incredible 3D image that can be seen without glasses.

3D GUI

On January 12, 2012, the US Patent Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a new 3D GUI for iOS mobile devices.

The patent clarifies that the new 3D UI will work with proximity sensor arrays and will respond to gestures.

Even Apple accepts that “[D]ue to the limited size of the typical display on a mobile device, a 3D GUI can be difficult to navigate using conventional means, such as a finger or stylus,” but Apple’s intelligent interface would offer an overview of a 3D display environment that would provide data from the gyroscope to detect hand-movements in front of the screen working as an “imaginary camera viewfinder.”

Well, we are not sure whether this feature will be on the next iPhone but we would certainly hope to see it.

OLED Screen

According to an April 4 report published by the Korea Times, Apple might launch an OLED display instead of the LCD to OLED display in its next iPhone.

Apple’s biggest rival Samsung has also announced its aim to switch from LCD to OLED technology. In that case, it’s easy for us to understand why Apple is also planning to change its display from LCD to OLED.

Reportedly, Apple has bought $7.8 billion worth of material from Samsung in 2011. The list includes memory chips to LCD panels. But, the company is also expected to buy $11 billion worth of parts this year, which indicates that the Cupertino-based tech giant is planning to buy more expensive display material to use it in its next iPhone.

Retinal and OLED combination, a sure win for Apple!

LTE

We all are somewhat certain about the LTE feature that would be introduced in iPhone 5. Since the new iPad 3 was launched with the 4G support, it is expected that the iPhone 5 will come with radio bands for 4G LTE support.

And, if rumors come true, then the company will have to make the device a little thicker to accommodate a larger circuit board and a bigger battery. This was the reason why Apple rejected the plan of implementing 4G LTE in its iPhone 4S. Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a company earnings conference call in April 2011, said, “First-generation LTE chipsets force a lot of design compromises.”

The iWallet

Another major patent won by Apple March 6 is a technology called iWallet, which lets users complete control to manage banking accounts on their iPhones. The technology, which also integrates Near Field Communication, will give users the ability to see their entire credit card profiles, statements and messages from their banks, and even set parental controls for their children. The statement will be directly sent to the iTunes account of the user so that users can keep track of their payments and statements within the iTunes billing system, which keeps credit card information and records safe and secure.

A6 processor

Quad core processor is the latest trend in the smartphone market now. And Apple will make no mistake this time to pack the strong processor which can support the speculated Retina display and other powerful apps including Siri.

The Verge has reported that the next iPhone will see the introduction of the rumored A6 processor that will clock in at superfast 1.2 to 1.5 GHz with 1GB or more of RAM to offer amazing processing capabilities to the smartphone.

The list, however, will be never-ending. But among other features that we desperately want to see in the latest iPhone, would be A5X Chip, 1 GB Of RAM, improved Siri, better battery to support the high resolution display, nanotech coating for making the device waterproof, system for multi-player gaming and so on.

http://www.sananews.net/english/iphone-5-release-date-rumors-special-features/

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Article source: http://www.sananews.net/english/iphone-5-release-date-rumors-special-features/