“Apple’s newly-announced iPhone 4S is an incremental stopgap while the company prepares a phone branded as the ‘iPhone 5’ with 4G Long-Term Evolution data speeds for next spring, one analyst claims,” Josh Ong reports for AppleInsider.
“Analyst Will Strauss, president of wireless chip market research firm Forward Concepts, explained to CNet his belief on why Apple showed off an iPhone 4S and not the rumored ‘iPhone 5’ on Tuesday,” Ong reports. “‘They’re saving iPhone 5 for the LTE version and that won’t be out until next spring,’ he said. Strauss tracks companies such as Qualcomm that provide the chips for 3G and 4G mobile technologies. However, given that the report does not indicate the source of his information, Strauss’ prediction should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism.”
Ong reports, “Though Apple has shown interest in LTE, even going so far as to purchase a batch of patents related to the technology, the company had said it wasn’t willing to make the necessary sacrifices to include it in this year’s iPhone. ‘The first generation of LTE chipsets force a lot of design compromises with the handset, and some of those we are just not willing to make,” Apple executive Tim Cook said earlier this year.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We iPhone 4 owners will be among the very first to pre-order our “incremental stopgaps” otherwise known as simply the best smartphone ever made.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]
oh look iPhone 5 rumors have started already.
…again
Yep, again. Let the mindless Apple bashing begin…………..and in record time………….less than 24 hours after Apple announced (not even released) it’s newest iPhone.
MDN needs to do a Bullshit Roundup of all the stupid wrong rumors and predictions leading up to Tuesday’s event. Just look at the crap we saw on THE LAST DAY: Steve Jobs was going to make an appearance. Sprint had an exclusive deal for the new phone until early next year. Math has exponential notation; the Apple blogosphere is riddled with excremental flotation, the uncounted legions of news turds that somehow rise to the top, are flung at readers — and blithely dismissed as “Apple’s hype” when they are inevitably proven wrong.
Some of the outstanding features in the iPhone 4S will be hard to beat in an iPhone 5. So what will be better? A slightly bigger screen and LTE? They’ve used up most of their ammunition as far as feature improvements on the 4S. Of course Apple may have other surprises in store we can only dream of now. But it’s at least another year away, if not until 2013 if this new 18 month cycle holds true.
Peter, I own a 4 and will not get this 4S and wait for the 5, even if the 5 only has a little better form factor, bigger screen, and faster internet connection.
So even a tiny bit better and a new case design is going to sell like hotcakes for the many iphone buyers like myself who purchase every major design change, not the incremental ones.
Like you though, I pray I don’t have to wait another 18 months!
Seriously? I think anyone who calls Siri an incremental update is severely weird. Plus all the people whining because the look is the same. Siri v different look. Wow, my life is so empty without a different look!
Someone tell me convincingly how they resist calling it iPhone 4G or 4GS
I’m betting on 2013 myself. They’d need to have quite a redesign to outshine the 4S. Not to mention they’ll probably want to have (or be close to having) a new iOS by that time. I’d gladly wait another 2 yrs for a GREAT iPhone 5 instead of 1 yr for a only-slightly-better-because-I-was-rushed model. Oh, and 2013 IS NOT a prediction……..just my assumption
I think they didn’t release the iPhone 5 because the milling equipment for the stainless steel backs couldn’t produce the 132-nanometer directional brush that was specified without being retooled, a process that takes 12 weeks.
And yes, my theory carries as much weight as any of these fscking idiots.
The iPhone 5 was a fiction created by the tech press using the journalistic equivalent of throwing a bunch of shit at a wall.
and maybe even more weight……………..Oh, did you hear that the next iPhone (labeled 5 – 4S2X – LMNOP – WTF) will power vehicles as large as Chevy Surburbans and have a 32 Ghz A6 processor, 64 MB of ram, a 4320p camera with 75x zoom, 4G ultimate data clocked at 128Mbps download and 64 Mbps upload, and a screen 24 times better than the Retina Display all wrapped in spaceship/ Joint Strike Fighter metal???? No, really. I heard from a reliable non-Apple source. I think he’s a Radio Shack employee………
Gossip rumur and innuendo rule the fool, Apple’s 4s is exactly what the doctor ordered, a real upgrade to a great ruler.
IPhone 4 is still selling gangbusters world wide, 4s will only boost those sales and demand.
Before and after iPhone, there is no other reliable smartphone.
Who would have thunk it!
Meanwhile, this scene from the Apple event stream made me crack up.
I posted a screen shot on my Flickr page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotonchop/6213956600/in/photostream
What the … ?
Rumor….
Apple would NEVER call the sixth iPhone that they release iPhone 5. Do any of these analysts pay any attention to Apple attention to the details?
Sure they would. You really think they’ll skip a number because of the “S”? I suspect that the next phone will be iPhone 5 and the next after that iPhone 5s. It would be reasonable for Apple to try to get two model years from a major design. And note: This is only my opinion. It’s not a rumor, or news, or anything else.
They skipped the number 2.
iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4GS, iPhone 6?
That is, hands down, THE dumbest thing I have ever read.
It will not be called the 5. The 3G was named not for which model but rather, the network. The standalone 5 has no association other than model, therefore the correct iteration- the 6th release- would be the rationale that has thus far determined the iPhone naming convention.
Well, not quite. Out of the five different models we’ve seen so far, the only one that had the model number correspond to its version number was iPhone 4. Let’s review:
1: iPhone
2: iPhone 3G
3. iPhone 3GS
4. iPhone 4
5. iPhone 5S
There is no noticeable naming convention consistency here, except for the 3G – 3GS and 4 – 4S.
The next iPhone may well be iPhone LTE (which would make it consistent with the naming of 3G), or iPhone 6. At this point, iPhone 5 is inconsistent with any naming schemes we’ve seen so far, other than 4 following 3GS (which would, by some feeble logic, imply that 5 would follow 4S).
Correct that 5. iPhone 4S. Sorry for the typo.
“MacDailyNews Take: We will be among the very first to pre-order our “incremental stopgaps” otherwise known as simply the best smartphone ever made”
Me too. I have a 3GS and this thing is going to be just wicked and keep me thrilled till my contract runs out in 2 years when the 5S is announced.
Also, Siri and I are going to get it on… Bigtime!
As always I say it’s the whole big picture… My macs & iOS devices all iClouded and meshed for seamlessness, with consistent user interfaces… And it all ‘Just works”.
“They’re saving iPhone 5 for the LTE version and that won’t be out until next spring.” I wouldn’t expect the 6th generation iPhone until this time next year.
Hmm… Well, we’ll be ordering the “incremental stopgap” as well.
Exactly. Apple is very worried about Samsung and had to do something now because the completely redesigned 5 is still months away. So, we’ve got a souped up 4 in the meantime that will probably sell just fine in spite of the fact that people have to pay dearly to get it before current contracts expire. And then pay even more dearly for the 5 (because the 4 will really, really be yesterday’s news) when it’s launched some 18 months or so before the new 4S contracts expire. The power of the Apple brand overwhelms reality, common sense, and good consumer behavior. The only thing that might change that – and Apple probably fears that this could happen – is if people would just spend a minute or two and look at all the things competing phones do that the iPhone can’t do. BTW, Tim’s show was just as lackluster and everyone feared it would be. All those Apple execs – good but not great – could have remained at their work stations as Apple rolled out the 4 upgrade on their home page.
Please. Take your Android ravings to an Android fan site where you can be lauded for your brilliance. Most people don’t care about raw specs. They care about functionality. The 8MP iPhone 4S camera will be noticeably better than any other 8MP phone camera out there – and that what matters at the end of the day. Look at customer loyalty ratings. Look at industry poll data about what phones are being replaced by new iPhones. BTW – the iPhone 4S was completely redesigned except for the static case components. Only the most rabid fanboy needs to have a major appearance change every 12 months – just to have bragging rites for the latest and greatest regardless of internal substance.
Listen, ron, there is more to a cell phone than the carefully crafted spec sheet. One just has to test drive at a Nokia smart phone to find that out.
Let me explain it in simple terms you can understand. The latest Android OS is about 6 years behind iOS 5.
Test drive an iPhone 4S and see the difference.
Please, just piss off. At least Zune Tang has the benefit of being a satirist. You’re just a trolling asshole.
Incremental Stopgap? Really? Look, if anything came out of this media circlejerk it’s this… I no longer put ANY faith in these so-called ANALysts. The big losers are the Apple bloggers and Apple so-called news sites.
All these people whining and crying about this update are morons. The current form factor is light years ahead of competition. It’s beautiful and just high quality everywhere. Now the internals are kick ass along with iOS 5 and more. It’s an amazing update. Yet these crybabies are like spoiled brats and demanding an unecrssarry form.
Our household will take two incremental stopgaps, please.
Hearing the Android hiss, I despair for humanity.
The iPhone 4S will sell like there is no tomorrow.
I’m GLAD they didn’t change the form factor. Now I don’t have to wait for two months to get a case for my new 4S. Back in the days before VZW got the iPhone and I was stuck with Android, I always had to wait until the phone was almost obsolete before I could buy a peripheral for it.
This business of not being able to plan ahead with Apple technology updates is for the birds. I really hope Mr. Cook rethinks this way of doing things for Apple.
Ummm… The iPhone 5 is already here, they just happened to put it in the same gorgeous form factor and call it iPhone 4S.
It was painful watching Schiller doing his best Jobs impersonation. It doesn’t work Phil, it just looks silly and pathetic. Develop your own personality and style, or just give a normal presentation. Either one works better than a lame attempt to copy Steve Jobs – nobody can.
In two weeks time when numbers of the initial first week’s sale are released, they will confirm blockbuster sales despite the poo poo.
All of this is absurd. NFC is not ready for prime-time, and neither is true 4G, so anybody who really thought the newest iPhone would have either is fooling themselves.
If Apple had changed the industrial design, and had exactly the same guts as the 4S, people would have gone bananas.
The 4S is a fine, fine update.
Should have been iPhone 5 or iPhone ‘V’ – even on Apple’s video, they talk five new features.
If tooling up for a new case was an issue, a simple fix could have been a different finish on the metal band to make a visual differentiator.
I think Autumn rollout for the iPhone is permanent. The iPod has merged into the iPhone and now Autumn is the “smaller devices” upgrade. Perfect timing for the Holidays. I have set my alarm to ensure I pre-order the 4S the literal second it is possible. It will be a long awaited and fantastic upgrade from my 3GS.
The iPhone 5 will have the “Swipe Your Phone As Your Credit Card” features plus the higher network speeds and other new capabilities and will not come out until next Autumn.
The only thing worth grumbling about is the very high price to buy the 5 next year because of the 2-year AT&T contract.
I sure miss Steve. His presentations have been a beacon of delight for me for over 30 years. I even followed him thru NeXT and Pixar while still attending Apple rollouts. From the instant I saw him in 1980 I knew he was a rare Titan, a man so far beyond the average that it was a miracle he walked the earth. He was blessed beyond all measure with genius and like many saints has paid in extreme suffering for his earth visit which has benefitted all humanity and propelled quality of life technology to amazing heights.
WTF?! Apple delivers every spec on a phone that they were expected to deliver and keeps an exquisite case design. Not using “reality distortion” and naming it the 4S instead of the 5 people yowl with disappointment. The same idiots who designed the iPhone 5, the dumbass press, cry foul and declare Android the winner. Please!
As someone said yesterday, if AAPL had called this the iPhone 5. everyone would have been satisfied. Everything expected was put into this phone. NFC and LTE were never promised.
iPhone 4S “disappointment” is a fabricated drama. What’s not completely awesome about the 4S? Does it need a bigger screen? No. It’s a phone. It fits in your pocket. Does it need to be thinner? No, it already fits in my pocket. Does it need 4G-LTE? Only if the chips are small enough and power-efficient enough to make the phone usable AND providers have enough LTE network to cover a lot of people. Which they are not and which they do not. Apple has leapfrogged the competition, yet again and given themselves an 18-24 month lead on the competition, again. The only thing that can be said is that iPhone 4S is a HUGE step forward in hardware taking full advantage of a HUGE step forward in software. Apple doesn’t waste our time or theirs on “showroom” features that no one can or will use. That’s the way the second-runs differentiate. Analysts be damned. I would jump ship in a hot minute if there was something better out there, but the only thing better than my iPhone 4 is the iPhone 4S I’m going to try to get day 1 because it’s worth every penny and more.