Rumor: Apple to introduce next-gen iPhone, iPad in mid-2013

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
A new report from DigiTimes claims that Apple's supply chain expects the company to introduce its next-generation iPhone and iPad "around the middle of 2013."

However, the information is not the focal point of Monday's story. Instead, it is focused on the fact that Apple's suppliers are expected to have strong results in the first quarter of 2013 as Apple sees strong orders for its products.

DigiTimes has a hit-or-miss track record with respect to Apple rumors. Given that Monday's report didn't have enough confidence to focus on the rumored release date, we have placed it on the AppleInsider backpage in the interest of discussion.



A mid-2013 release for the next iPhone and iPad would mean an unexpectedly short product cycle for the iPhone 5 and latest iPad lineup. One report from earlier this month did claim that Apple is expected to begin trial production of a so-called "iPhone 5S" in December.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18


    Quick update, Apple is now slated to release the 7th iPhone and 5th iPad next week.


     


    Today.


     


    They're already out; have at 'em.

  • Reply 2 of 18
    "A new report from DigiTimes"--STOP. No need to read further.
  • Reply 3 of 18
    This makes no sense for iPhone, iPad possibly. Apple has been messing up both product upgrades schedule.
  • Reply 4 of 18
    adamcadamc Posts: 583member
    I wonder who paid them to come out with this rumor.

    It is more of a trick to get people to stop buying the iPhone 5 and iPad 4.

    Since when did Apple try to be like their competitors coming out with many product every six months or less.
  • Reply 5 of 18


    Originally Posted by AdamC View Post

    Since when did Apple try to be like their competitors coming out with many product every six months or less.


     


    Since they released the 4th iPad six months after the 3rd.

  • Reply 6 of 18
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    Since they released the 4th iPad six months after the 3rd.



     


    There's many very valid reasons why this was done, not related to any kind of competition. The biggest of which was justifying the significant price difference between an iPad mini and an iPad, the desire to move all major products in their lineup to the new connector, as as  as updating the iPad hardware to that which better handles the amount of pixels it has to push around- and the iPad 3 barely did this. 


     


    And sure, it didn't hurt to refresh their flagship iPad before the Surface/Windows 8 either in order to be favorably compared. 

  • Reply 7 of 18
    I don't see Apple having any choice about this. Samsung and Android have already claimed more market share and techie mindshare by introducing their model updates faster. Samsung is really pushing Apple. This is only my opinion, but I am an apple fan and I still checked out the Samsung III before buying the iphone 5 this time. The deal killer for the Samsung phone was it was shut down on the display at ATT. I restarted it, but I don't want to substitute a crashing system for my iPhone.

    I will also say the upgrade this time was not as smooth. I switched phones with my wife and we mixed up some user data between the two somehow. This is not a deal breaker, but I would prefer to have a better and easier upgrade system. You are never sure whether the cloud or iTunes is the better way. Making the two more distinct somehow would help.

    It would also be nice to have the passwords stay on the phone when you upgrade. Entering 20 digit passwords is no easy chore, especially when the password font makes the 1, lowercase L, and capital i all look exactly the same!
  • Reply 8 of 18
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    Since they released the 4th iPad six months after the 3rd.
    As I see it, the iPad "4" is a speed bump, like the iPhone 4S.

    The iPad refresh cycle is typically in March, so pushing the next major IPad update to June makes sense so soon after a speed bump, especially since the iPhone update schedule has been gradually pushed to the Fall, when the iPod used to have its upgrade cycle. Now that the iPod represents a much smaller segment of Apple's business, it seems like they are combining them. Based on the future sales of the mini, Apple could now update it in the Spring, or update the entire iPad line at once just in time for the new school year (which the mini missed this go around).

    I doubt Apple would update the iPhone at the same time as the iPad, three months short of its annual release cycle, as they have those two-year contracts to keep in mind. Kind of takes the wind out of their sails if they release a new product and their target customers have to wait three months to upgrade. But as you point out, they are doing whacky things at Apple now ...

    Bottom line, it seems more likely that Apple would be poised to go within a couple of months window to allow them a strategic release based on what Google, Amazon, or Microsoft have planned, which also means spreading out their product releases to give them more opportunity to counter the competition throughout the year.
  • Reply 9 of 18


    Originally Posted by Mac_128 View Post

    As I see it, the iPad "4" is a speed bump, like the iPhone 4S.


     


    … So? It's a brand new model. They make one model, and then they release it. New generation of device, just like the iPhone 4S. Don't give me that "speed bump" crap.

  • Reply 10 of 18
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    Well, it's not quite like the iPhone 4S which offered considerably more than this iPad. So i appologize for besmirchng the 4S -- but considering Apples labeling system, they themselves are inviting the consumer to marginalize the "S" models, versus the major product revisions that come with a new number. they might as well label the iPhone 4, 4.1, 5, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the latest iPad is still called "The New iPad", upgraded the processor, front camera, and the dock connector. So its more like the mid-production speed bumps they quietly do to the Mac models, usually without any of the fanfare the iPad received, which is arguably a marketing move to further take the wind out of the sails of the competition. Since this is the first time Apple has done this with either the iPhone or iPad, we will just have to wait and see what happens with the next iPad release. But it's hardly a completely "new" model. Put the old New iPad, and the new New iPad next to each other and ask any consumer to tell you the difference after playing with them for an hour, and they'd likely arrive at the conclusion that they have different dock connectors, IF they even notice.
  • Reply 11 of 18


    Originally Posted by Mac_128 View Post

    …considering Apples labeling system, they themselves are inviting the consumer to marginalize the "S" models…


     


    We're years out. The entire device gets updated every time. And you're STILL pretending that this is the case?!






    Correct me if I'm wrong, but the latest iPad is still called "The New iPad"…



     


    You're wrong. Three iPad models have been called "iPad". Guess it's chart-making time again.


     



































    Name

    Marketing Name

    Colloquial Name

    "Internal" name

    iPad

    iPad

    iPad

    iPad (2010)

    iPad 2

    iPad 2

    iPad 2


    iPad (2011)


    iPad

    the new iPad

    iPad 3

    iPad (Early 2012)

    iPad

    iPad with Retina Display

    iPad 4

    iPad (Late 2012)


     



    So its more like the mid-production speed bumps they quietly do to the Mac models…


     


    Which means the third iPad was like this, too¡ 


     


    Actually, while that remains sarcasm, the third iPad fits your silly metaphor better, since 2-3 was A5-A5X instead of 3-4 being A5 line to A6.






    Since this is the first time Apple has done this with either the iPhone or iPad…



     


    Done what, a quicker update or a "marginal" update?






    But it's hardly a completely "new" model.



     


    Oh, shut up. It's a brand new processor family. If that doesn't constitute "new", nothing does, and we're still on the first model of iPad. It's just "iPad 1.4" image


     


    Just once I want Apple to redesign a product without changing any of the hardware in any capacity just to slap some sense into these "it's only new if it's a case redesign" people.

  • Reply 12 of 18
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    Just once I want Apple to redesign a product without changing any of the hardware in any capacity just to slap some sense into these "it's only new if it's a case redesign" people.
    That's not what I'm saying at all. Every new iPad and iPhone has been released with significant new features. A faster more capable processor is the minimal advancement included in the release. The most important thing Apple brings with each new update is the iOS. So it is the FIRST iDevice (well second including the mini, which is nothing more than a shrunken iPad 2) Apple has released without an accompanying iOS update to support it. And I don't mean a 6.x update, I mean one that brings a host of new features which can only be accessed fully by the new device. I guess I hadn't noticed the marketing change, but it would have been confusing to continue calling it the new iPad, when the mini is clearly the new iPad. They should have called it Retina display from the beginning. But I digress.

    While I can't deny the iPad with Retina Display is a new product, its not a major upgrade. It's a minor improvement to an existing model. No new features, it basically works exactly the way it did before, but a bit faster, which customers may or may not notice. And people expect processor upgrades, its just unusual to have one without also improving other major aspects of the device as well. And it's not like the 90s when a processor upgrade was a major event in of itself.

    All I'm attempting to point out is that this is unique for the iDevice lineup, and I misspoke, even the 3GS, and 4S did not introduce such minimal changes, despite being mini upgrades to the previous models.

    Hence my deduction that Apple could easily have a major upgrade planned for the Summer as predicted in the article, with the minor improvement to the new iPad buying some extra time to skip the usual Spring window customer have come to expect.

    That's all. Sorry to confuse the issue with the iPhones.
  • Reply 13 of 18
    timbittimbit Posts: 331member
    … So? It's a brand new model. They make one model, and then they release it. New generation of device, just like the iPhone 4S. Don't give me that "speed bump" crap.

    I think the problem becomes having too many complainers. Everyone complained with the 4S because it wasn't a big enough change. Going from the iPad (3rd gen) to the iPad (4th gen) would not have been enough for many people, so they probably said "Let's do a quick update and then look at major revisions for the next one". Can you imagine the complaints if all people got was a faster chip and a new connector?
    What you are saying makes perfect sense, but the general population disagrees with common sense
  • Reply 14 of 18


    I think it is merely a trick to fool people and stop them buying the iPhone 5 and iPad 4.

  • Reply 15 of 18
    It's called IPad 2 for extreme early 2012, it's called new iPad for Mid 2012( with major improvement) it's called iPad with retina for late 2012(minor improvement with face camera, new connector/port new processor). Hopefully if I am correct iPad ______ mid 2013, thinner better battery, better processor totally new cameras, all this based on when you buy not release date.

    Now lets compare the 2012 iPad changes to 2011/2012 iPhone changes.

    iPad 2. iPhone 4
    Reg screen. 9.7 inch Retina 3.5 inch
    Two cameras low quality. 1 5 meagapixel/ 1 ====================VGA
    30 pin. 30 pin
    A5 Chip. A4 chip
    Battery 10 hour. Battery 9
    3G. 3G
    Redesign vs. pre. Redesign vs. pre
    Released early 2011. Released mid 2010


    New IPad. iPhone 4S

    Retina 9.7 inch. Retina 3.5 inch
    1 5 meg. Cam./1 VGA. 1 8 meg./1VGA
    30 pin. 30 pin.
    A5X Chip. A5 chip
    Battery 10. Battery 10(inproved)
    4g 3G
    Redesign vs. previous. ================
    Early 2012. Late 2011


    iPad with retina. iPhone 5

    Retina 9.7 inch. Retina 4 inch
    1 5 meg. Cam./1.2 meg 1 8 meg. Cam./1.2
    ==================meg. Camera
    Lighting. Lighting
    A6X. A6
    Battery 10. Battery 10(inproved)
    4g. 4g
    =================redesign vs previous
    Late 2012. Late 2012

    See it's more of a S and sinse I'm comparing lets do retina iPad vs ipadmini

    iPad with retina. iPad mini
    9.7 inch Retina. 7.9 inch with high ===================res scree (below ===================retina)
    ========Cameras match==========
    ========lighting port=============
    A6X. A5
    ========battery same============
    ========4G====================
    Same design vs. prev. No design based
    ===========late 2012=============


    Based off at the keynote"they have released a buoyed full iPad with a gorgoues iPad with retina display" yet said" we introduce to you the new iPad with retina display" means minor upgrade.
  • Reply 16 of 18


    Originally Posted by Timbit View Post

    Can you imagine the complaints if all people got was a faster chip and a new connector?


     


    That IS all people got. Yeah, RAM doubled, but that's what an update IS. 


     


    If Apple updated the entire thing, every single piece of hardware improved, AND gave it a new case, people would still complain. Because people are idiots.


     


    The trick is parsing the valid complaints!

  • Reply 17 of 18
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    timbit wrote: »
    I think the problem becomes having too many complainers. Everyone complained with the 4S because it wasn't a big enough change. Going from the iPad (3rd gen) to the iPad (4th gen) would not have been enough for many people, so they probably said "Let's do a quick update and then look at major revisions for the next one". Can you imagine the complaints if all people got was a faster chip and a new connector?
    What you are saying makes perfect sense, but the general population disagrees with common sense

    The last sentence: truer words were never spoke.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    bigpicsbigpics Posts: 1,397member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mac_128 View Post



    Correct me if I'm wrong, but the latest iPad is still called "The New iPad",


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post



































    Name

    Marketing Name

    Colloquial Name

    "Internal" name

    iPad

    iPad

    iPad

    iPad (2010)

    iPad 2

    iPad 2

    iPad 2


    iPad (2011)


    iPad

    the new iPad

    iPad 3

    iPad (Early 2012)

    iPad

    iPad with Retina Display

    iPad 4

    iPad (Late 2012)


     



    I was going to correct you, because they called it "iPad fourth generation" at the introduction, but on the site it's now as TS noted.  What still needs to added to get you up to speed is that the "new iPad" ref IS gone......

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