WSJ: Apple plans to build 25M thinner, lighter next-gen iPhones this year
Apple is reportedly gearing up to build its next-generation iPhone, placing orders for key components to build a new model thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4 with an 8-megapixel camera.
The Cupertino, Calif., company is said to be so aggressive with build plans for its next-generation handset, it hopes to build 25 million units by the end of 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing sources in Apple's overseas supply chain. It was said that Apple may not be able to meet that goal if Foxconn cannot improve its yield rate, as the new iPhone is reportedly "complicated and difficult to assemble."
The next iPhone will reportedly sport new wireless baseband chips from Qualcomm, replacing the Infineon chips found in the current iPhone 4. The report did not indicate whether that wireless chip would be a dual GSM-CDMA model allowing compatibility with both types of networks, something that has previously been rumored for Apple's next-generation iPhone.
And while the Journal did claim that the new iPhone will be thinner and lighter than its predecessor, it did not give any indication whether the body of the device will be similar to the current iPhone 4. Previous reports have been divided on the issue, with some claiming the new model will be a major redesign, and others claiming the new device will retain the same form factor.
Apple's alleged order of key components places the device on track to go on sale in the third quarter of calendar 2011, sources reportedly said. Suppliers expect to ship their components to device assembler Foxconn in August.
If accurate, the 25 million build total for 2011 would suggest that Apple expects its iPhone sales to continue to grow with the launch of the fifth-generation model. In its previous fiscal quarter, the company sold a record 18.65 million iPhones, including both the iPhone 4 and previous-generation iPhone 3GS.
Those numbers could go even higher if Apple decides to continue to offer the iPhone 3GS as a free entry-level model later this year, as is rumored. A recent report from one Wall Street analyst claimed that Apple will offer the iPhone 3GS to customers for free, subsidized with a standard two-year service contract.
The Cupertino, Calif., company is said to be so aggressive with build plans for its next-generation handset, it hopes to build 25 million units by the end of 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing sources in Apple's overseas supply chain. It was said that Apple may not be able to meet that goal if Foxconn cannot improve its yield rate, as the new iPhone is reportedly "complicated and difficult to assemble."
The next iPhone will reportedly sport new wireless baseband chips from Qualcomm, replacing the Infineon chips found in the current iPhone 4. The report did not indicate whether that wireless chip would be a dual GSM-CDMA model allowing compatibility with both types of networks, something that has previously been rumored for Apple's next-generation iPhone.
And while the Journal did claim that the new iPhone will be thinner and lighter than its predecessor, it did not give any indication whether the body of the device will be similar to the current iPhone 4. Previous reports have been divided on the issue, with some claiming the new model will be a major redesign, and others claiming the new device will retain the same form factor.
Apple's alleged order of key components places the device on track to go on sale in the third quarter of calendar 2011, sources reportedly said. Suppliers expect to ship their components to device assembler Foxconn in August.
If accurate, the 25 million build total for 2011 would suggest that Apple expects its iPhone sales to continue to grow with the launch of the fifth-generation model. In its previous fiscal quarter, the company sold a record 18.65 million iPhones, including both the iPhone 4 and previous-generation iPhone 3GS.
Those numbers could go even higher if Apple decides to continue to offer the iPhone 3GS as a free entry-level model later this year, as is rumored. A recent report from one Wall Street analyst claimed that Apple will offer the iPhone 3GS to customers for free, subsidized with a standard two-year service contract.
Comments
Yeah. That should do it !!
Why pay $70 a month for a 2 year old phone when a few hundred more gets you an iPhone 4?
Why pay $70 a month for a 2 year old phone when a few hundred more gets you an iPhone 4?
Because some of us have family members with limited data plans and pay $25 for them; the phone price matters then and extra goodies don't necessarily for non-power users.
Give me more battery life.
Because some of us have family members with limited data plans and pay $25 for them; the phone price matters then and extra goodies don't necessarily for non-power users.
You're paying ten times as much for data plans as you EVER do for a phone. Up front costs are completely meaningless.
I thought that apple never wanted an iPhone to sell for free (with contract) as it indernines the brand's value.
They already do in plenty of markets. Back when the iPhone first launched Apple were skittish about it, they were concerned that it would devalue them as a brand, but clearly as they got deeper into the phone market they found that it wasn't a problem - and in fact wider exposure to Apple hardware seems to have increased their brand value.
Apple's new operating principle seems to be that it's fine for users to get a piece of Apple hardware for free or cheap, but it should never feel like a cheap object.
You're paying ten times as much for data plans as you EVER do for a phone. Up front costs are completely meaningless.
The data cost for the term of a contract is (24 months @ $15 per month) $360.
An added $200 phone cost would be about a 50% increase in the total cost.
I just want a bigger screen. Android is way, way ahead on that front. 4" minimum, but I'd go for 4.3 or 4.5".
I think those phones are too bulky. I wouldn't want a bigger screen if that meant the handset had to be any bigger.
I think those phones are too bulky. I wouldn't want a bigger screen if that meant the handset had to be any bigger.
The handset won't get bigger, the margins may however get smaller.
I don't care about thinner & lighter at this point.
Give me more battery life.
I want thinner, lighter, more battery life, bigger screen, 8mp camera, a much improved antenna system, 4G capable and a faster processor. Too much to ask for?
Oh! Ooohh!!! I want an orange iPhone!
Your wish is granted.
I want thinner, lighter, more battery life, bigger screen, 8mp camera, a much improved antenna system, 4G capable and a faster processor. Too much to ask for?
You forgot 500GB Flash memory!
Your wish is granted.
You beat me 3 minutes.
Your wish is granted.
::grumble grumble::
Oh! Ooohh!!! I want an orange iPhone!
or http://www.colorware.com/c-17-smart-phones.aspx
I want thinner, lighter, more battery life, bigger screen, 8mp camera, a much improved antenna system, 4G capable and a faster processor. Too much to ask for?
With a free bumper!... Now you asked for too much!
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