Apple to ship new iPhone 5 in September
By Reuters
Posted today at 8:21 a.m.
Apple Inc.’s next-generation iPhone will have a fasterprocessor and will begin shipping in September, three people with directknowledge of the company’s supply chain said.
The production of the new iPhone will start in July/Augustand the smartphone will look largely similar to the iPhone 4, one of the peoplesaid on Wednesday.
The iPhone — introduced in 2007 with the touchscreen,on-demand application template now adopted by its rivals — remains the goldstandard in the booming smartphone market.
Reports on the timeline of the new iPhone launch vary,though it is largely expected that Apple will likely refresh its iPhone 4 laterthis year.
The sources declined to be identified because the plans forthe new iPhone were not yet public. An Apple spokeswoman in Hong Kong was notavailable for comment.
The iPhone is one of Apple’s most successful products, withmore than 16 million sold in the last quarter of 2010 and the product accountedfor more than a third of the company’s sales in the quarter.
The current iPhone 4 was launched by Apple Chief ExecutiveSteve Jobs in June last year and began shipping the same month in 2010.
Apple sources many of its components from Taiwan-basedsuppliers, many of whom are expected to benefit from an uptick in sales as someof them rely on the U.S. company for about 20-40 percent of their business,said Vincent Chen, an analyst at Yuanta Securities.
“For some suppliers, Apple is their cash cow, or their breadand butter,” Chen said.
“With all these versions being launched so frequently, itwill be the so-called low-margin suppliers, such as those that assemble thephones, who will benefit the most.”
Suppliers to the new iPhone include camera module makerLargan Precision Co Ltd (3008.TW), touchscreen panel maker Wintek Corp(2384.TW) and case maker Foxconn Technology Co Ltd (2354.TW), two of the peoplesaid.
The companies would begin production either in July orAugust before shipping components to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd(2317.TW), flagship of Foxconn Technology Group, for assembly, they said.
Officials at Largan, Wintek and Foxconn declined to comment.
On Wednesday, Largan’s Taipei-listed shares ended up 3.7percent, Hon Hai rose 4.3 percent and Foxconn rose 6.6 percent, outpacing thebenchmark TAIEX share index’s 2 percent advance.
Apple, a big purchaser of touchscreen displays and flashmemory, is also dependent on Japan for some of its key components, sparkingconcern that the disruption due to the crisis there may hurt its gross margins.
Apple is expected to report another spectacular quarter onWednesday, tempered by growing caution over how supply constraints will squeezemargins and restrain iPhone and iPad sales.
