“Going into Tuesday’s earnings report, most expected Apple to delay the launch of its next flagship iPhone, with rumors calling for an October release date, if not later,” Roger Cheng writes for CNET. “But the normally conservative Apple surprised everyone by offering a cheery forecast for the current quarter, with revenue ranging from $49 billion to $52 billion, above Wall Street’s forecast of $49.2 billion.”
“That forecast is important because it suggests that some sort of new iPhone will launch in the period, which runs until the end of September,” Cheng writes. “Otherwise, there’s no way its existing product line could generate those numbers, which represent an increase over the $46.9 billion it posted a year earlier. ‘There’s simply no way to achieve the kind of growth their guidance suggests without that,’ said Jan Dawson, an analyst at Jackdaw Research.”
“While we may see new iPhones in September, they could be an upgraded version of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the usual addition of an ‘S’ to its name. Dawson said it would be hard for Apple to hit its revenue forecast without a new high-end iPhone. But the company could still hold back the rumored radically different iPhone 8 in October or later,” Cheng writes. “Apple usually schedules an event in early September, so we’re likely just a few weeks away. ”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: 1. Not all rumors are created equal.
2. The “S” stands for “Stupid.” As in: Apple marketing is stupid. They should have ditched the obviously self-defeating “S” nomenclature years ago.
3. And, yes, as we wrote yesterday in the very minute that Apple’s report was released: “Strong guidance implies an on-time iPhone launch (not significantly delayed, if at all).”
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“The S stands for stupid” ? I disagree completely. If you look at all “S” models from the 4S, each was a significant upgrade. I only buy “S” models. Having worked in the tech sector as a project mgr., the second release is comprised of bug fixes, component upgrades, new features which were not ready for the first release.
Looking forward to an iPhone 7S with the camera from the 7Plus or better.
Yeah, MDN, a grave slip on Apple’s part. After all, they haven’t managed to sell any of those “S” model phones….
When the 3GS was released, S stood for “speed.” What it stands for now is “stuck” with a naming convention that no longer is relevant.
The “S” stands for Something for Simpletons to Snivel about.
The “S” designation is fine. It eliminates the need for Apple to justify another year of no major design/form factor change, yet provide a significantly better product. I too have been on the “S” track since it began. Good enough for me.
The “S” designation was fine for the 3GS when the iPhone was in its infancy, now people have come to expect that significant feature upgrades only come every other year. Apple should want excitement every year that encourages even people with year-old phones to upgrade, or at least every 2 years rather than the 3+ years it is now. If the rumors are true, we’ll see a flagship iPhone 8 alongside upgraded 7s/7s+ models. This would be a good time to finish with the “S” cycling and in a year offer the iPhone 9 as the flagship and 8 as the legacy model (though I could see the 7s hanging around for another year). Offering one screen size will streamline Apple’s supply chain and help them focus on meeting demand.
Can someone explain how a reporter can claim, “most expected Apple to delay the launch of its next flagship iPhone”. When the company has never announced a launch date…. and has never even acknowledged there is a new phone?