Apple Needs New iPhone 5S, iPhone Lite in September

There are a number of reports pointing to September as the month Apple plans to launch the iPhone 5S. Which one is right on the money is anyone's guess at this point, but they all have the same month in common. There's even talk that the new phone will be accompanied by the long-rumored "lite" model sporting a hard plastic screen instead of glass among other cost-cutting features.

First up to bat is German blog iFun that claims it has talked with an insider close to the launch. Apple will reportedly launch two different devices on September 6: supposedly the iPhone 5S and the iPhone Lite. That's around two weeks earlier than the launch of Apple's iPhone 5 in 2012, and could mean the devices will be revealed in late August. Apple's Tim Cook already confirmed that new products would be announced "this fall and across 2014."

That said, perhaps Apple plans to reveal the iPhone 5S on September 6, with shipments taking place later during the month. There's speculation that the iPhone 5S at the very least must go on sale around September 20 to allow a full weekend and an entire week of sales to jack up Apple's earnings before the end of fiscal 4Q 2013. This is based on a report by Walter Piecyk of BTIG covering Apple's fiscal third quarter results ending June 29.

"We don’t think that Apple can hit its newly issued revenue guidance for the September quarter unless it launches new products," he said. "After delivering $35 billion in revenue in the June quarter, management guided to $34-$37 billion next quarter. Revenue would more typically drop multiple billions if the company had no new products planned. With September quickly approaching, this could be the start of a string of new product announcements that increase investor confidence in Apple’s ability to return to EPS growth next year."

Ok, so we get it so far. To end fiscal 2013 with a bang, Apple needs to release new products in September. Apple did the same last year, delivering over 5 million iPhone 5 units in one weekend, and before the end of fiscal 2012. That caused a 58 percent increase in iPhone sales year-over-year. There's no doubt Apple plans to do the same, especially if it has two separate iPhone units in hand.

Finally there's another "reliable source" who claims the iPhone 5S and iPhone Lite will be revealed during a special event on September 18, and made available on September 27. While the latter date seems rather late in the game for fiscal 2013, the company could be betting on similar weekend sales seen with the iPhone 5 in 2012, in addition to numbers generated by the second iPhone Lite unit.

The "Lite" version will supposedly be a refreshed iPhone 5 with a selection of colors, a plastic protective screen instead of glass, and a plastic chassis. The subsidized price will be $99, making it a killer deal for those who don't mind the toy-like 4 inch screen.

So there you have it -- a bunch of dates pointing to the same month. Bottom line is that Apple needs to make investors happy, and that can be accomplished by flooding the market with new hardware before the end of its fiscal year. After all, hardware is Apple's primary focus, and all the apps and media loaded up on iTunes is icing on the cake.

  • BranFlake5
    What upgrade will the 5s really be? But of course millions will line up for it anyway.
    Reply
  • TheBigTroll
    i would say that the "cheap" iphone would be popular due to the "low" price but the regular not so much.
    Reply
  • halcyon
    11242206 said:
    What upgrade will the 5s really be? But of course millions will line up for it anyway.

    It'll be imperceptibly faster and Siri will be slightly less pubescent.
    Reply
  • stanley780
    I was reading an article from Mobilesyrup why smartphone sales are stagnating. To sum it up people aren't in a hurry to upgrade since performance increases don't cut it anymore since a galaxy s3 from last year is still a perfectly capable smartphone now and has all the performance needed to run the latest apps smoothly. And there are contracts not many people want to break a contract or spend $600+ for an extra 2 cores in their phone. The only way to get people to upgrade are with new innovative features even though 99% of them are useless, people will still think they need them. Or a larger battery, people really like having a phone that lasts 4+ hours without having to be charged. Apple needs to start being innovative again or they are going to lose the smartphone race. Samsung beats Apple in most aspects of the phone, battery life, features, removable sd card, etc. The smartphone market is also becoming saturated with choices and lowered price phones that offer similar or the same specs for less. Apple needs to stop riding the "I need a new apple product every time it's released" wave because it's losing momentum. And why would anyone on earth get a cheap plastic iphone made from ABS when they can get an old iphone 4s for $300 used or a new one for $500 that isn't made to be cheap and will offer similar specs.
    Reply
  • jk_ventolero
    11242249 said:
    11242206 said:
    What upgrade will the 5s really be? But of course millions will line up for it anyway.

    It'll be imperceptibly faster and Siri will be slightly less pubescent.

    And don't forget the additional row of icons. That one's the kicker.
    Reply
  • DRosencraft
    Apple has stubbornly refused to do anything "budget" so I doubt the Lite rumors. I have the feeling they'd need to be a little more desperate for stock performance than they are right now before they risk their brand identity as "top quality at almost any cost".
    Reply
  • house70
    Heh. They'll come up with something "new" taken straight from Android and "adapted" for iOS, like they've been doing for the last couple iterations. They'll marginally upgrade the hardware and call it "revolutionary", yet again for all the gullible drones out there to flock to it. LOL.
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    That depends on whether or not Rogue ends up in the 5S. I'd say probably not. But if it does, it will provide a large leap in graphics performance, if nothing else.
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    Can't wait for a certain late night talk show host to ask iPhone users about the "New iPhone" again when it's simply just the previous one. LOL
    Reply
  • JPNpower
    I love how the iphone 4/4s were big deals but when the iPhone 5 came out, the first iPhone with 4g, a different size, very thin, and fast, people just said it was no improvement.
    Reply