July 5, 2011 - 3:36 A.M.
iPhone 5 enters production, ships September
- TAGS:AAPL, Apple, iOS 5, iPad, iPhone, iphone 4S, iPhone 5, mobile, Pegatron
- IT TOPICS:Devices, Laptops & Netbooks, Macintosh, Macs & PCs, Mobile, Mobile Apps
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The iPhone 5 is on its way and is set to start shipping in September, that’s the big Apple [AAPL] story this morning as Taiwan-based Pegatron reportedly lands orders for 15 million iPhone 5s from the Steve Jobs company.
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[ABOVE: The launch of iOS 5 is likely to coincide with that of the iPhone 5.]Â
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Questions and answers
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In related news, Digitimes informs us that iPad 2 shipments are presently running at five million units per month, on strength of claims five million touch sensors for the devices will be shipped in July. Apple shipped a similar number last month.
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As per usual, Apple’s profitable component manufacturers are doing the talking -- Pegatron refused to discuss the claims. What is known is that Pegatron has been making some big investments in plant for production of Apple devices, booking initial orders for 10 million CDMA iPhones for sale via Verizon. However, the company shipped under four million of these in Q1.
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"The sources pointed out that as the iPhone 5, which does not seem to have any major update from iPhone 4, is already set for shipment in September, they are already started supplying components to Pegatron with Pegatron's plants in Shanghai, China also recently started hiring for manpower."
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The report offers some confusion -- for example, it refers to the iPhone by two names, both as iPhone 5 and as the iPhone 4S. Also left unanswered is the fate of existing primary iPhone manufacturer, Foxconn.
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[This story is from Computerworld's Apple Holic blog. Follow on Twitter or subscribe via RSS to make sure you don't miss a beat.]
Has Apple abandoned that company for iPhone creation, or are Pegatron’s 15 million handsets in addition to those made by Foxconn? If that is the case, has Apple hired Pegatron to manufacture a huge number of CDMA-compatible models, and, if it has, are these destined for use on compatible networks in China and India?
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Apple COO Tim Cook was reportedly in China last month (along with some other key execs from the iPhone and mobile teams) to seal an iPhone deal with the world's biggest mobile carrier, China Mobile.
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The report also describes the iPhone 5 as not seeming to have any major update from iPhone 4, which makes little sense to me. I can’t quite believe Apple has taken well over a year to deliver a phone that’s pretty much the same as the last one, though I can believe some components might be the same, or that the exterior may be very similar (albeit with an improved antenna design).
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Investing on the rumor, Pegatron stock has already jumped 3.1 percent on strength of these claims.
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The iPhone 5 seems set to be twice as fast as the current generation, equipped with an A5 processor, 8-megapixel camera, a much-improved flash function, and an improved display.
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Screen size may be larger with the loss of the physical Home button and a 64GB model might appear (though given Apple's new iCloud service it is arguable that local capacity will become less important on devices.) Previous reports have speculated the device may have a redesigned case, NFC support and combined GSM/CDMA network compatibility.
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What do you think? Will you be getting an iPhone when it appears? Please follow me on Twitter so I can let you know when new reports get published here first on Computerworld.
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