With the multitude of rumours circulating Apples next iPhone, 9to5Mac is reporting that a reliable source at Foxconn tells them the new iPhone – dubbed the iPhone 5 – is already in production. It is reported that the new iPhone will have a 4 inch display, no teardrop design as originally indicated in rumours prior to the launch of the iPhone 4S and that it will also be longer/wider. The source is also the same one that the iPhone 5 was not going to launch last year, but rather what is now the iPhone 4S.
iMore went on later today to report that John Gruber(I have no idea who this is) believes that the iPhone 5 has NOT gone into production will maintain the same size with a larger screen rather than having a larger/wider phone.
Two opposite opinions leave one to wonder – Has the iPhone 5 gone into production, or is it still in the prototype stages? Here are my thoughts on whats happening:
Apple began working on the iPhone 5 in early 2011 and there were many rumours about the 4 inch display as well as having a radical new design.
Leading up to Apples ‘Lets talk iPhone’ Oct 4 event, speculation was high that it was going to be the iPhone 5 with many case manufacturers having already put cases into production on the phone, but also rumours were circulating that the iPhone 5 wasn’t ready and that an ‘upgrade’ to the iPhone 4 would be instead. Later we went on to find out that it would be indeed an ‘upgrade’ and the iPhone 4S was launched along with Siri, iOS5 and iTunes Match.
Following the launch of the iPhone 4S, rumours started floating around that the iPhone 5 that it wasn’t launched due to overheating issues due to the thinness, battery life issues and even that due to the health of Steve Jobs, they put the iPhone 5 back on the shelf and crammed new parts into the existing iPhone case.
With the Foxconn source being accurate with the previous iPhone as well as the fact that plans for the new iPhone have been in production for close to a year, I want to believe that his report is believable and the new iPhone is indeed in production. In regards to the statement that the iPhone won’t be longer/wider – why not? When the prototype of the iPhone 4 was found, people dismissed it as being real due to the fact that it wasn’t ‘Apple’s typical design’. Just because Apple doesn’t stick to what we have seen over the years, doesn’t mean that it isn’t possible. They always have a reason for why they design something the way they do and everything needs to work together. They don’t just slap parts together and call it a day. Keep in mind that it has been said that it was Steve Job’s last big project that he worked on and rumoured to be a radical new design. I think they have had a lot of time to work out the kinks and doesn’t surprise me at all.
If it is in production – this would give them enough time to start mass producing units in anticipation for a summer launch; as we’ve seen in the past.
What do you guys think? Has Apple started the production of the iPhone 5, or is it just another of the many rumours?
Digital Igloo 