Apple Getting Consumer Savvy with iPhone 5, 4S Pricing and Release Dates?
Based on some recent reports, Apple will begin making the next version of the iPhone in August. These support some previous rumors, though they don’t offer much more in details. The note, written by Morgan analyst Katy Huberty, says the device will indeed begin production in that time frame and will “ramp aggressively” into Q4. Hubery expects that Apple may go after a bigger price cut of iPhone sales – as much as ten percent. And, the company may even limit shipments of the iPhone 4 because of this, but will make up for the loss with revenues from the upcoming phone.
“Huberty believes that the launch of the new device will mean fewer sales and shipments of the existing iPhone 4, so it is lowering estimates for Q3 and raising them for Q4 by two million units. The total number for the whole year—72 million units—remains unchanged.”
Long term, Huberty thinks Apple will ship more units in 2012, perhaps due to lower product prices. This seems to be what a similar report by Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore predicts: Apple may launch two products; the all new iPhone 5 and the iPhone 4S. The latter would sell at lower prices and focus on the pre-paid market to increase demand worldwide.
Overall, Morgan Stanley expects a growth rate of 20 percent in Q3 and Q4 for Apple. Aymco analyst Horace Dediu, however, believes that number is seriously lacking. In an email he sent to mocoNews, he said that this figure is considerably lower than that of the mobile market as a whole, and would mean HTC is growing five times faster than Apple.
The first source that suggested the iPhone 5 will hit the production line in August was a prediction published by Boy Genius Report.
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