Analysis of Apple's quarterly guidance reportedly reveals that Apple will release the next iPhone in June/July rather than in September, according to SeekingAlpha's Andy Zaky.
During Apple's Q2 conference call, CFO Peter Oppenheimer stated, "We expect OpEx [operating expenses] to be about $2.5 billion, including about $255 million related to stock-based compensation expense."
Zaky says Oppenheimer might as well have said, "Despite what you might hear on Wall Street, we expect the iPhone 5 to be released in late June or early July as planned."
Arguments for June/July Release:
● Consensus seems to be that Apple will be releasing a minor "4S" update. Unless Apple is planning something revolutionary there is no need to delay the cycle.
● Apple is likely trying to throw reporters off due to the whole "prototype" debacle of last year. It's possible that Apple could hold separate events in June. One for iOS and one for iPhone.
● Rollout of an evolutionary iPhone 4S after the white iPhone 4 release would make sense. The White iPhone 4 would merely become the lower end version of iPhone 4 / iPhone 4S family of devices.
● Apple significantly increased its guidance for operating expenses this quarter. Over the past two quarters Apple offered OpEx guidance of $2.325 billion for fiscal Q1 and $2.350 billion for fiscal Q2. For Q3 Apple has significantly updated operating expenses guidance to $2.5 billion.
Zaky elaborates on the his last point which is the most important.
In what is generally considered one of Apple’s seasonally slowest quarters of the year, Apple’s management just offered the most aggressive OpEx guidance in the company’s history. Notice this huge increase in Q3 guidance is also more or less very consistent with the historical trend. We saw the exact same pattern take place in 2010. Apple offered the same exact guidance of $1.64 billion in fiscal Q1 and fiscal Q2 of 2010, and then increased its OpEx guidance by 11.6% to $1.83 billion for fiscal Q3 ahead of the iPhone 4 launch.
There are some other factors to consider such as the launch of Mac OS X Lion and the time needed for developers to update applications for a new iOS 5 release; however, Zaky does bring up some valid points.
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In an interview with AllThingsD, France Telecom/Orange CEO Stephane Richard discussed a smaller SIM card that Apple is developing with their global carriers for future versions of their mobile devices. Besides confirming that carriers, including Orange, are working with Apple on the new initiative, Richard said that Apple’s next-generation iPhone will be smaller and thinner.
Richard’s comment specifically says the “next” iPhone, meaning the fifth-generation iPhone – rumored for a September launch – but we think his comment could simply be an assumption based on the smaller SIM card developments. Another possibility, since we have no time frame on these smaller cards, is that the next iPhone is actually an all new, thinner, smaller design.
Another possibility is that these smaller SIM cards are for the “iPhone nano,” which the Wall Street Journal discussed earlier this year. The device, codenamed N97, is said to be smaller, lighter, cheaper and feature an edge-to-edge display. Smaller SIM cards would be perfect for this device, so perhaps Orange’s CEO just dropped a hint of that.
The person who saw the prototype of the new iPhone said the device was significantly lighter than the iPhone 4 and had an edge-to-edge screen that could be manipulated by touch, as well as a virtual keyboard and voice-based navigation
It’s necessary to mention that Richard is the same person who “confirmed” an Apple tablet – with 3G -announcement in late January, but said it would include a webcam. As we all know, the Apple tablet only got a webcam two months ago with the iPad 2.
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Apple’s pull is virtually impossible to resist, we’ve all known that. Despite fierce competition from the likes of Samsung and HTC, Apple gets the utmost respect from rivals. See a female shopper in the above shot? That’s HTC’s co-founder and chairwoman Cher Wang, accompanied by husband Wen-Chi Chen, a CEO at VIA Technologies. The two were snapped up shopping for Apple gadgets at the Palo Alto retail store, reported the Chinese-language Mobile01 site. So, why on Earth would the couple want to set their foot inside an Apple Store?
For the same prosaic reasons as us ordinary folks – the experience of being served by the world’s greatest consumer electronics powerhouse. They had reportedly spent about half an hour talking to clerks and inquiring about products before leaving the store. Mind you, at no point did Wang appear bothered by that pending lawsuit from Apple accusing her company of “stealing” handset-related patents. Maybe the couple was keen on learning firsthand how the heck Apple became America’s greatest retailer? Joking aside, the report has it that HTC’s chairwoman and her husband left the store with a bunch of shiny gadgets with the Apple logo emblazoned on them. This includes two iPads, two Apple TVs, two MacBook Airs – one per spouse – plus an Airport Express, probably to create and share ad-hoc wireless networks among their computers while on the road.
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Although the previous generation iPod nano had curved glass (it wasn’t universally loved), the Samsung Nexus S was the first mainstream smartphone with curved glass. If Digitimes is right, the iPhone 5 may be the second (and likely more popular).
…the latest being circulated around the supply chain in Taiwan is that Apple is going to adopt a curved cover glass for its next generation model, according to industry sources.
That would seem to fly in the face of recent reports that the iPhone 5 would be very similar to the iPhone 4 in appearance. Digitimes has found what they think is anecdotal evidence.
However, in order to push forward the production of curved glass, Apple reportedly has purchased 200-300 glass cutting machines to be used by glass makers, said the sources. The glass slicing machines are currently being stored at associated assembly plants and will be brought online once yield rates for the production of curved glass reaches a satisfactory level, the sources revealed.
Although Samsung is a competitor wrapped in lawsuits with Apple, it is also a major supplier and obviously has experience with curved glass screens.
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Hands up if you’ve ever restored your iDevice only to realize you hadn’t saved your photos somewhere beforehand? Come on, hands all the way up. That means you at the back!
While it’s not the end of the world if you intend on restoring a backup of your device, if you want to start afresh you’re out of luck. Or, you were until Photo Rescue came along.
Photo Rescue is a nice, simple way of peeking into your iDevice backups and picking out your much-loved photos for restoration.
Using the free version of Photo Rescue will allow you to see what photos are part of which backups, but if you want to retrieve them you’ll be paying the very reasonable $4.99 for the full version. All devices which have backups on your computer will show here.
One caveat for some though – Photo Rescue is Mac-only right now, so if you’re a Windows user you’re out if luck here unfortunately. Also, encrypted backups are not supported, though we’re willing to bet that doesn’t affect the vast majority.
Photo Rescue is available for download
now.
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Mac|Life has put together a list of
10 Android OS Options We Want for iOS. Here's that list.
Typing in a four-digit security code is so last century. Android's screen lock lets users draw a custom pattern to unlock their phone. Sweet!
Multitasking is a great feature, but wouldn't it be nice to have the apps you use all the time always open and ready for use? Android's got that going on, as many applications can be used as on-screen widgets.
With Android Market, users can browse for apps on their computer and then install them wirelessly to their Android device. C'mon Apple, let's make this happen!
Sure, the keyboards offered by iOS are easy to work with, but variety is the spice of life. Android allows you to install a multitude of different keyboards with a robust number of options.
Does Android do Flash? Yep. How about the iPhone or iPad? Nope. Will we ever see Flash on an iOS device? Don't hold your breath.
Sure, iOS looks nice and is easy to use, but wouldn't it be nice to change things up without the need to jailbreak your handset first? Android users can trick their phone out with a custom launcher and do exactly that.
If a custom launcher's not enough for you, how about the ability to install custom ROMS? By installing a new ROM, Android users are able to dramatically change the functionality of their handset with very little effort. Yeah, we want that.
Oh, iPhone, where does all your power go? If you were an Android handset, you could tell me. Yeah, that's right, Android offers users the ability to see what their battery power is allocated to -- natively. Le Sigh.
Android users receive notification of new mail, text messages and just about everything else through the notification bar at the top of the screen. We'd love to see this unobtrusive wonder brought over to iOS.
Most of us would rather use third-party apps and have never traded stocks in our lives. Sadly, the iOS Weather and Stock apps can't be removed from our phones. Same goes for the rest of iOS' default applications. That's not an issue for Android users. Phooey.
