The VAR Guy can’t help but enjoy the Apple rumor mill. Sometimes he hears whispers coming from inside Apple, and sometimes he hears from his sources on the outside. But the latest rumor — that there may not be an iPhone 5 in 2011 — has our resident blogger thinking hard about the implications. Read on for the details and what The VAR Guy thinks is going to happen …

Thanks to Digitimes, The VAR Guy has learned that Taiwan-based touch-panel manufacturers have yet to receive an iPhone 5 production roadmap. With Apple’s typical launch date for a new iPhone occurring in the summer, at this late point it’s looking more and more like there may not be a summer debut for the latest and greatest in iPhone technology. What’s more, Digitimes also reports steady demand for the iPhone 4 touch panels. (Full disclosure: Digtimes has been hit or miss for The VAR Guy when it comes to rumors.)

But The VAR Guy is pretty certain that if Apple was set to release a new iPhone 5 in the summer of 2011 like it normally does each year, it would be making some production moves or changes. So what’s Apple’s strategy if it’s not producing an iPhone 5 this year? The VAR Guy’s speculation is two-fold:

  • The iPhone 5 will be a January 2012 release: With the Verizon iPhone debuting just this past January 2011, it’s likely that Apple may have shifted its production cycle to a later time. If not January 2012, Apple may merge the new iPhone announcement with its traditional September iPod announcements. That would still put an iPhone 5 launch toward the end of the year and potentially be a dual-carrier launch. This could explain why there is no change in production.
  • The iPhone 4.5 is coming summer 2011: It’s very possible — like the iPhones before the iPhone 4 — we’ll see an incremental bump on the guts of the phone, with no physical changes to the outside. That’s what Apple did with the iPhone 3G to 3GS. If that’s the case, then there literally is no need for Apple to redesign the screen. The VAR Guy thinks his iPhone 4.5 theory will hold water if the same rumors start to emerge from other parts manufacturers. If the iPhone 4.5 (or 4S) arrives summer 2011, The VAR Guy thinks it will be an AT&T phone, with a Verizon iPhone 4.5 coming out in January 2012. Apple may then continue along this path, with the true iPhone 5 making its debut summer of 2012 for AT&T and January of 2013 for Verizon.

Call The VAR Guy crazy, but he thinks either one of these scenarios is likely. Another long shot: iPhone 5 comes January 2012 with 4G. The VAR Guy welcomes all your speculations in the comments and looks forward to being completely and utterly wrong. Apple never ceases to surprise the industry.

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2 Comments on “Is Apple Retooling its Traditional iPhone Release Date?”

  1. Andrew Says:
    April 15th, 2011 at 4:57 pm

    Instead of the iPhone 4S, why don’t you think it will be the iPhone 4G that is rolled out this summer? After all, all you have to do is add the “G” to the iPhone 4 to make a name change that perfectly fits the upgrade.

  2. Dave Courbanou Says:
    April 18th, 2011 at 9:58 pm

    I like that idea and I’m sure the VAR Guy does too, but I’m hesitant to think Apple will put 4G in their next phone until 4G has been rolled out properly and the technology is fully fleshed out by AT&T and Verizon.

    Right now, AT&T is far behind, and Verizon is just on the cusp.

    3G networks were available when the iPhone 1 (2G, whatever) came out, but Apple waited until the technology matured to fully develop a phone around it. If Apple waits ’till early-to-mid 2012, then maybe we’ll se a iPhone 4G/5 — but I wouldn’t be surprised if a 6th generation iPhone was the first iPhone to fully support the standard.

    I also welcome being totally wrong. Apple surprises in so many ways.

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