New iPhone to launch on Sept 12: Sources

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple is preparing to introduce the next version of the iPhone on Sept 12 in what will be a design overhaul of its top-selling product, according to two sources with knowledge of the company's plans.

The sources asked not to be named because an official announcement has not been made. The new iPhone will have a larger screen and thinner body, and is expected to work with faster long-term evolution wireless networks being introduced by carriers, according to analysts such as Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster.

The design change will be Apple's first for the best- selling smartphone since 2010, when it unveiled the iPhone 4. Last year's update, the 4S, had the same look as the prior version. Anticipation for the new model has led to a drop in sales for the current devices, causing Apple to miss analysts' sales and profit targets for three months that ended in June. The iPhone accounted for 46 per cent of the company's revenue in the quarter.

Apple is battling Samsung for supremacy in the US$219.1 billion (S$273 billion) smartphone market. While Apple's strategy has been to release a single smartphone each year, Samsung has become the world's leading handset maker by putting out several devices a year in a range of sizes and prices.

The planned September debut was reported earlier by iMore, a technology news website. Ms Natalie Harrison, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had worked closely on the redesigned phone before his death in October, one source familiar with the matter said in May.

Apple, the world's largest company by market value, rose 1.7 per cent to US$595.03 at the close in New York. The shares have risen 47 per cent this year.

Bloomberg Businessweek also reported a new rumour has emerged that the iPad mini could get to consumers by November.

Despite a differing report earlier yesterday, Apple monitoring blog iLounge says the iPad mini could get its own premiere event and ship to consumers in November. The report points out that's an unusual time for an Apple launch but says its source is insistent that that is Apple's target date.

But the iPad mini might not be the only Apple tablet that could launch by then. ILounge says there is also a chance Apple will premiere a fourth-generation iPad alongside the iPad mini in November.

However, the report admits that's a very ambitious target date, and a release of a new iPad before the year anniversary of the new iPad could anger some customers. Therefore, iLounge speculates that an early 2013 launch is more likely.

Besides launch dates, iLounge is also reporting some of the changes the next iPad might receive, including a rear-side mike, smaller dock connector and "spec-improving/heat-reducing changes."

Along with new devices and redesigns, iLounge also says Apple is working on smaller versions of the iPad Smart Cover and Smart Case for the iPad mini.

The report also says Apple is likely to launch a new iPod Touch, along with the new iPhone. The tech giant will also launch two new cases for the iPhone, including one that is similar to the current Bumper cases and another that "will have a major impact on the accessory market if released." BLOOMBERG

Source: www.todayonline.com