Apple may delay next iPhone on larger display troubles, report says
Apple will reportedly delay the release of its next iPhone until the end of the year, which may result in lower sales during the lucrative December quarter.
According to Bloomberg, citing sources speaking to the Commercial Times in Taiwan, a slightly larger 4.3-inch display is to blame for the delay.
The report also noted that chips for the next iPhone — dubbed the iPhone 5S, though naming has yet to be confirmed — would be delivered in August.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant typically pegs its iPhone announcements around June and July on a yearly schedule. But the company has in the past couple of years — particularly since the arrival of the iPad, which shook up the release date timetable — shifted the iPhone's release towards September and October.
This adjusted schedule allows Apple to target the pre-December holiday rush, where sales are generally at their best ahead of the festive season.
A cheaper iPhone is also expected to serve emerging markets. But, rumors have continued for years that Apple is targeting developing countries with a lower-cost smartphone of its own. Analysts remain mixed on whether or not Apple will release a cheaper, cost-efficient iPhone.
The iPhone, it goes almost without saying, has become one of the most popular bring-your-own-device (BYOD) smartphones to the market since the trend really took off around 2010.
The next iPhone, whatever it may be called, will also come with iOS 7, the next iteration of the Apple mobile operating system.