The iPhone 5 News Blog

From iFixit.com

Regardless of how the iPad Mini‘s features and price stack up to competitors, tech gurus like iFixit are liking what they are seeing under the hood thus far.

One of the big misnomers about Apple is that they strive to offer the most innovative feature in the consumer tech marketplace. Not so. While Android-based designers tend to roll out novel features on smartphones and tablets, Apple continues to work under the “build it better” ethic. This ethic of course raises the bar for Cupertino among the tech media and enthusiasts, which is why issues such as the easily scratched metal back of the iPhone 5 or poor battery performance become hot-button issues in the press. The media and consumers hold Apple to the gold stand when it comes to quality and performance.

While the features, specs, and price point of the iPad Mini have all been scrutinized over the past weeks, early indications point to the fact that the build quality of Apple’s mini tablet looks solid. Read More

The early iPhone 5 sales numbers reveal the obvious — Apple’s new smartphone is raking in profits. And now it looks like the iPad Mini is destined for a similar level of success.

Yesterday, we took a look at how the iPad Mini stacks up against other mini tablets on the market, such as the Nexus 7, and how it can be argued that, in terms specs and price, the newest, littlest iPad isn’t necessarily the best buy out there. But as has been proven time and time again in the tech media blogosphere, the average customer pays little attention to the hype: they buy what’s cool, and right now, the iPad Mini is very cool.

So cool that the iPad Mini appears to be sold out. Long shipping delays suggest that Apple’s newest gadget is having similar supply issues as the iPhone 5, which, by the way has officially raked in 24% in Apple profits alone. Read More

The iPad Mini has invigorated tablet users with its diminutive size and robust features? But is the Nexus 7, its natural rival, a better option for users looking for a sub 9/7-inch tablet?

Apple is so lucky. They have the privilege of releasing new products seem one-of-a-kind, even if their competitors beat them to the punch months or years before. This has been the long-standing complaint from tech enthusiasts, who often accuse Apple of playing catch-up to Android. But in the end, the average tech user doesn’t seem to know about newfangled mobile technologies until Apple sticks its brand logo on it.

And from the reception that the iPad Mini has received in its opening weeks, you’d think that Apple was the first company to offer a 7-inch tablet device.

But the fact of the matter is, Apple is actually late to the party when it comes to offering a smaller, less expensive tablet, and some would argue that the iPad Mini’s $329 price tag for its 16-GB introductory tablet model might still preclude it from competing it the same market segment as the Kindle, Nook, Nabi, etc.

Yet, there is enough side-by-side comparison evidence to suggest that the less-expensive, 7-inch Nexus 7 mini tablet might actually offer users a better value than the iPad Mini. Read More

A purported leaked imagine of the iPad Mini atop a traditional Pad 3.

With Apple, there’s always “a wait” for some newfangled, rumored device. After the achingly long wait for the iPhone 5, we’ve now set our focus on the iPad Mini, a rumored, conceptual product that really gained traction in the rumor mill in 2011. But even though it seems unlikely that Apple would release a new product like the iPad Mini right on the heels of the hugely popular iPhone 5, that’s what the rumors have been telling us.

But to this point, they’ve been wrong.

As of last week, the rumor mill believed that October 10th was going to be the day that invitations were passed out for an iPad Mini press event on the 17th or 18th of October. Now that the 10th has come and gone without any news from Cupertino, however, we’re now looking at a November release of the iPad Mini. Read More

Just on the heels of the iPhone 5, Fortune Magazine is now claiming that Apple is set reveal the long-rumored “iPad Mini.” Is Apple really going to do this?

Lately I’ve been asking myself, “Is Apple really going to do this?” or “Did Apple really do that?!” quite a lot lately. If there is any doubt that the death of Steve Jobs has led to a new management style, just take account of what has happened so far in 2012: the iPad 3 leaked before its announcement; the iPhone 5 leaked months before its announcement, after Tim Cook doubled down on security; then he apologized for Apple Maps; then Phil Schiller told iPhone 5 users to suck it up regarding scratches on their new iPhone. That’s quite a sequence, isn’t it? Read More

A new report appears to reconcile the release schedule for the long-rumored iPhone 5 and iPad Mini, with the former arriving in September and the latter in October.

Over the past few weeks of mass production rumors concerning the iPhone 5, it has been difficult to reconcile the rumors that the iPad Mini would be co-released along with the iPhone 5 in September. In addition to the fact that Apple rarely presents two new, differing hardware products on the same announcement stage, we’ve heard much less about iPad Mini parts than we have iPhone 5 parts. But a new report from AllThingsD appears to offer a more plausible release schedule for both the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini.

The report states:

Apple’s next generation iPhone and its so-called “iPad mini” will debut at two separate events this fall, rather than a single one as has been widely speculated, according to several sources.
First comes the latest iteration of the tech giant’s hugely popular smartphone, which will be unveiled at an as yet unannounced event on September 12.

Only after the next-generation iPhone is out the door and on sale will Apple announce the smaller iPad it’s been working on. That device, which is expected to have a display of less than eight inches, will be uncrated at a second special event, which sources said is currently scheduled for October.

While we have little to go on concerning the credibility of AllThingsD’s sources, the release blueprint makes a lot more sense in that it breaks up this co-release rumor. (Can we finally put to rest the notion that Apple will ever co-release products in this way? C’mon!) The crux of this new report is that Apple will position the lesser-priced iPad Mini as an ideal Christmas item — particularly amidst a slumping world economy that could be further shocked in the fall by deteriorating market conditions in both the U.S. and Europe. Read More

Fresh rumors are making their rounds about the release of the Mini iPad this to take on Google’s planned Nexus 7 tablet. If Apple makes good on a sub-9.7 inch iPad, how will that impact the iPhone 5′s screen size (and release date)?

It was just about this time last year that the tech community began to try out the rumor that a new-generation iPad would be co-released along with the iPhone 5. Dubbed the iPad 2S, iPad 2 Plus, iPad Pro, iPad Mini and iPad HD, the rumor always seemed odd, considering that we had just gotten the iPad 2 in the spring of 2011. Plus, how likely would it be that Apple would co-release a new tablet and the landmark iPhone 5 at the same time?

Of course, that never happened — we didn’t get an iPhone 5 or an iPad [fill in the blank]. Read More

While iOS 6 beta and new MacBooks are a foregone conclusion for this year’s WWDC, the tech intelligentsia say nay to an iPhone 5 announcement. But enthusiasts are holding out hope. How will the WWDC go down? Will we have a “One More Thing” moment this year? Do you foresee another surprise hardware announcement for the WWDC other than the iPhone 5? Post your complete WWDC predictions here.

So, this is it — again. For the second year in a row, the WWDC has rolled around, and for the second time, there is some anticipation that the iPhone 5 could make a surprise announcement. Granted, you’re not likely to find many voices in the press raising that specter of possibility — remember: all those guys were burned last year, when there was decidedly more optimism and enthusiasm in the rumor mill that the iPhone 5 would be announced at WWDC 2011.

I guess that the second time around, nobody wants to get let down again. What a sorry, broken-hearted lot they are.

As we have laid out on this blog previously, there are plenty of pros and cons to the possibility of the iPhone 5 announcement at this year’s WWDC. Admittedly, the pros are a lot more capricious and driven by hope-filled and rumor-fueled flights of fancy, while the cons are based on stoic, sober, and conservative analyses. But what cannot be denied is this: these past few weeks leading up to the WWDC have been remarkably similar to the three weeks ahead of the iPad 3 announcement: with the iPad 3, we saw leaked parts that for the most part foreshadowed its release, and the rumored features all but came true.

We’ve seen a similar set of rumors and photos for the iPhone 5 recently. The only difference is that the sources who are releasing the photos and rumors are telling us “September” or “October.” If the photos of the new iPhone 5 parts are real, then it’s hard to reconcile such a long wait at this point — 3 or 4 months?

Because there are so many rumors and theories out there, I thought it would be fun to post an article here on the iPhone 5 News Blog today to serve as a forum for all of the readers and commenters of this blog to predict what we’re going to see at the WWDC come tomorrow. What will iOS 6 look like? Will we see the iPhone 5 after all? What do you expect from the new MacBooks? And if not an iPhone 5, could one of the other exciting, rumored Apple products get a surprise announcement? All of these questions are still floating around some 24 hours before the start of the conference. Read More

A new rumor out of Taiwan claims that LCD suppliers are getting set to produce components for the 7.85-inch “iPad Mini” in time for the second half of 2012. With rumors breaking yesterday that production for iPhone 5 displays are just getting underway, is Apple really going to cram both product releases into the last two quarters of 2012?

This morning, 9to5Mac is reporting on a new rumor out of Taiwan via Macotakara that Apple has taken big steps to commence production of the mythic 7.85-inch Mini iPad. According to the 9to5Mac report, the LCD suppliers for the Mini iPad’s have been certified, and production orders are underway:

LG and AU Optronics were certified to supply the LCD panel for the iPad Mini. Furthermore, it goes on to claim that both manufacturers are working to ship the panels for production and for a release sometime during the latter half of 2012. The target-shipping amount for the iPad Mini is said to reach 6 million (which was previously reported), but I think there would be a need for more due to the influx of holiday sales. Other news about iPad Mini parts include: TPK Holding will produce 4 million backlight modules; Chemi Innolux will produce 2 million; and Nissha Printing will produce the touch film sensor.

This report joins a similarly-styled report out of Asia yesterday via WSJ’s Asia bureau, which claims that displays for the iPhone 5 are only just beginning to ramp up. Lorainne Luk and Juno Osawa reported that, according to their well-placed sources, “The new screens measure at least 4 inches diagonally, the people said, compared with 3.5 inches on Apple’s latest model, the iPhone 4S. Production is set to begin next month, the people said. Analysts have predicted that the next iPhone will come out in the fall.”

Then, there was the China Daily article from last week that claimed Foxconn CEO Terry Gao nonchalantly referred to the much-anticipated iTV: “Gou said Foxconn is making preparations for iTV, Apple Inc’s rumored upcoming high-definition television, although development or manufacturing has yet to begin.” This remark has splashed water on Appledom’s whimsical hopes that iTV could be revealed at the WWDC in June.

If all of these release date rumors were to come true, Apple would be releasing the alpha version of iOS 6, the iPhone 5, the iPad Mini, and iTV all in the last two quarters of 2012. Read More

A new rumor has surfaced that the 7-inch “Mini iPad” will indeed debut this year, and given an ultra-low price tag designed to destroy the competition — even at a loss for Apple.

Apple has never been known as a price leader for its consumer electronics products — their iPhone is competitively priced among other top-tier Android and Windows smartphones, and their Mac desktops and laptops are among the most expensive personal computers on the market today. When it comes to the iPad, however, Apple has dominated the tablet sector by keeping its prices steady , and offering price-to-features ratio that its competitors have not been able to match. The only gambit for competing devices like the Kindle and Nook has been to offer smaller, stripped-down tablets at a much lower price point.

Now, it appears that Apple will leverage the rumored 7-inch “Mini iPad” to obliterate the smaller, inexpensive tablet market as well — even if it means taking a loss in order to do it. Read More