As we continue to count down the days until September 10th’s all-but confirmed unveiling of the new iPhone, an interesting tidbit has just surfaced courtesy of KGI Securities’ resident Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Up until now, it was thought the iPhone 5S would retail alongside the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C as Apple’s three options available to prospective consumers. However Kuo believes that instead, Apple could ditch the iPhone 5 completely, rather opting to keep the iPhone 4S running momentarily as the third-in-command to the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C respectively.
Kuo is usually spot-on with his analyses of goings-on pertaining the Cupertino, as well as noting that the iPhone 5 will be discontinued from the end of Q3, believes the iPhone 4S will be shipped until at least the end of the year.
As the flagship model, Apple expects the iPhone 5S to be the most popular of the new entrants, shipping many more units than the lower-budget iPhone 5C. But the move to oust the iPhone 5 will come as a surprise to many, especially given that the iPhone 4S has been around for double the length of time of the current top-end model.
It’s not the first time we’ve heard that the iPhone 5’s days may be numbered, but while it doesn’t necessarily tie-in with the company’s usual strategies, it does make a degree of sense from a business point of view. After all, if the iPhone 5S does, as we expect, take a similar shape to the iPhone 5, the inclination upon consumers to purchase it over the iPhone 5 will be greatly reduced, but with the iPhone 5 out of the picture and only the polycarbonate iPhone 5C and antiquated iPhone 4S for company, one suspects that the market will be drawn to the top-spec device.
The iPhone 5S is expected to offer a fingerprint sensor amid a flurry of internal updates like a 12-megapixel camera and faster processor. With a champagne color configuration and 128GB storage option to boot, the iPhone 5S could truly stand head and shoulders above its peers – particularly if the iPhone 5 is not counted among them.
Naturally, it’s only sensible to approach the report of Apple ditching an 11-month-old device with a degree of skepticism, but given Kuo’s stripes as one of the more accurate analysts, it could well be that the current blockbuster is on its way out.
Thoughts?
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