Apple will begin assembling the iPhone 5 in mid-to-late August, an investment banker reported after a trip to Taiwan.
The Morgan Stanley investment banker, Katy Huberty, said in a note to clients, "Apple’s next iPhone will begin production in mid to late August and ramp aggressively" into the end of the year. Huberty met with several unnamed people in Taiwan, where Apple's supply chain and manufacturing reside, according to AppleInsider.
As a result of the later than usual launch, Huberty shifted 2 million iPhone units from the firm's third quarter estimates to its fourth quarter estimates, though the firm's full year estimate of 72 million units remain unchanged. However, the analyst notes that if the next iPhone were to come out in early September, it would "drive upside" to Morgan Stanley's lowered estimates.
Huberty said she expects the handheld to be available for sale by October.
Another analyst released a note to investors also suggesting that Apple is creating an iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, but without the trip to Taiwan, according to Forbes. While this hasn't been confirmed at all, it does harken back to an earlier report posted here in May about Apple working on an iPhone 4S and/or 5G that will be out by Thanksgiving.
Will there be both? It's a possibility, but it's probably more likely a new iPhone 4S will be coming out much earlier than an iPhone 5.
