• Shaw Wu: iPhone 5 Could See Bigger Design Upgrade Than Expected

    by
    Michael Essany
    Published on 2011-08-02 02:14 PM
    55 Comments Comments


    Throwing yet another curve-ball in the iPhone 5 news and rumor pipeline is prominent industry analyst Shaw Wu, who says that checks with supply chain sources overseas indicate that Apple's 5th generation iPhone may pack bigger upgrades in the forthcoming refresh than we presently imagine.

    Sterne Agee’s Shaw Wu this morning tries to answer the question “Why would a customer consider buying an iPhone 5″ from Apple (AAPL) if “there is a 4G LTE iPhone down the corner,” referring to the prospect Apple will eventually sell a model that uses the faster fourth-generation wireless networking speeds.
    "Well, it turns out that we are picking up that this interim iPhone refresh in the Fall timeframe could be a bigger upgrade than we expected," Wu speculated in a note to investors. "We believe this keeps the iPhone fresh and competitive and helps maintain its leadership position."

    So, is Apple ready to drop a 4G LTE bomb on iPhone buyers with this fall's new release? "We continue to pick up indication that it will not likely incorporate 4G LTE due to battery life issues and spotty network coverage. And ironically, if anyone is in a position to fix these weaknesses, it would be AAPL.”

    So what are the "dramatic" improvements and other re-design attributes Wu hints at? According to the analyst (who has a pretty good track record on Apple product predictions), the screen will be bigger than most expect, and thinner than we're used to. Other details? None were provided. But that's the latest scoop from inside the insider's den.

    Source: Barron's
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Shaw Wu: iPhone 5 Could See Bigger Design Upgrade Than Expected started by Michael Essany View original post
    1. Categories:
    2. iPhone,
    3. Apple
    Comments 55 Comments
    1. ibfr33k's Avatar
      ibfr33k - 2011-08-02, 04:21 PM
      I'm not too worried about the 4G part of the iPhone 5. Where I live, we don't even have 3G. We barely even have Edge. When the download speed tops out at 4KB/sec with no sign of anything faster, all the phones that have the hardware to do so don't seem too important.
    1. Rokesomesmeefer's Avatar
      Rokesomesmeefer - 2011-08-02, 04:22 PM
      Blah blah blah, it will be thinner than the iPhone 4 and will have a larger screen, blah blah blah. Groundbreaking stuff!

      Nothing to see here, move along...
    1. Eagleye's Avatar
      Eagleye - 2011-08-02, 04:36 PM
      ^ Agreed. I really hope something is actually groundbreaking this release. Apple does do really well improving tech that has already been released yet hasn't really gotten off the ground. The iOS 5 software looks "fun," but a lot of the features we have already had thanks to our devoted developers. The larger screen, faster processor, better camera, 64GB, thinner (thus, probably hotter phone), features seem nice... but nothing super "Magical."

      We all bash but even if Apple falls short of expectations, they will sell millions of these phones regardless... and I will most likely be one of the suckers because I <3 APPL.
    1. jeffhesser's Avatar
      jeffhesser - 2011-08-02, 04:41 PM
      ya, what good is 4G when they are just going to throttle (or cap) the bandwidth anyways? When i'm in a metro area i probably have wifi and when i want fast speed cause i don't have wifi odds are pretty good LTE will be no where to be found. If they want to squeeze it in that's fine as i'm sure it'll be easily turned off. would be sad to think that making LTE work better could be delaying access to the coveted next iphone though!
    1. louietsang's Avatar
      louietsang - 2011-08-02, 04:42 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by ibfr33k View Post
      I'm not too worried about the 4G part of the iPhone 5. Where I live, we don't even have 3G. We barely even have Edge. When the download speed tops out at 4KB/sec with no sign of anything faster, all the phones that have the hardware to do so don't seem too important.
      Man not even edge?! Where do you live a rainforest?!

      But overall I agree that there's nothing left to really improve on the iPhone besides looks and speed, it's like improving the car, u can make it look better make it run faster make it use less gas but there's nothing more u can improve on the general 4 wheel design...
    1. indyracer05's Avatar
      indyracer05 - 2011-08-02, 04:49 PM
      so theres basically no "new" news other than someone stating that it might be a big upgrade, but with barely no details as to what other "big" features there would be besides being thinner and a larger screen.
    1. boxxa's Avatar
      boxxa - 2011-08-02, 04:53 PM
      I just hope the battery life is at least the same as the iPhone4. I went to a Android 4g phone and the battery died in 8 hours with moderate use. I went back to my iPhone4 and with decent use, I still have 2/3 of my battery at the end of the work day.
    1. mikerlx's Avatar
      mikerlx - 2011-08-02, 04:54 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by louietsang View Post
      Man not even edge?! Where do you live a rainforest?!

      But overall I agree that there's nothing left to really improve on the iPhone besides looks and speed, it's like improving the car, u can make it look better make it run faster make it use less gas but there's nothing more u can improve on the general 4 wheel design...
      Specs are only good if u add 3,000 pictures and hd video on the iPhone 5 without a hiccup lol I forgot iCoud will free up space with iOS 5
    1. punjabi212's Avatar
      punjabi212 - 2011-08-02, 04:57 PM
      LOL @ another rumor
    1. brianiino's Avatar
      brianiino - 2011-08-02, 05:02 PM
      the screen will be bigger than most expect, and thinner than we're used to.
      That's all I really care about, oh 8mp camera and A5 chip too. I really hope they get rid of those stupid names like "G","S", or "GS" and just stick to iPhone 5.
    1. Mysterion's Avatar
      Mysterion - 2011-08-02, 05:02 PM
      Verizon release. 4G LTE iPhone 5.
    1. Poseidon79's Avatar
      Poseidon79 - 2011-08-02, 05:11 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Rokesomesmeefer View Post
      Blah blah blah, it will be thinner than the iPhone 4 and will have a larger screen, blah blah blah. Groundbreaking stuff!

      Nothing to see here, move along...
      Please enlighten us with your infinite wisdom as to what you would consider significan't upgrades to the current device that would warrant your attention.
    1. Eirreann's Avatar
      Eirreann - 2011-08-02, 05:13 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by ibfr33k View Post
      I'm not too worried about the 4G part of the iPhone 5. Where I live, we don't even have 3G. We barely even have Edge. When the download speed tops out at 4KB/sec with no sign of anything faster, all the phones that have the hardware to do so don't seem too important.
      Neither am I, personally.
      On that subject, what is Edge, anyway?
    1. Poseidon79's Avatar
      Poseidon79 - 2011-08-02, 05:20 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Eagleye View Post
      ^ Agreed. I really hope something is actually groundbreaking this release. Apple does do really well improving tech that has already been released yet hasn't really gotten off the ground. The iOS 5 software looks "fun," but a lot of the features we have already had thanks to our devoted developers. The larger screen, faster processor, better camera, 64GB, thinner (thus, probably hotter phone), features seem nice... but nothing super "Magical."

      We all bash but even if Apple falls short of expectations, they will sell millions of these phones regardless... and I will most likely be one of the suckers because I <3 APPL.
      If you were designing the next iPhone what would make it "super magical" for you?

      Also to everyone else complaining about your Edge/3G/LTE... why don't you go to your service provider's forum and complain. It's not Apple's fault there's no coverage in your area.
    1. RICO_'s Avatar
      RICO_ - 2011-08-02, 05:26 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Mysterion View Post
      Verizon release. 4G LTE iPhone 5.
      According to who? Your hopes and wishes?
    1. Rokesomesmeefer's Avatar
      Rokesomesmeefer - 2011-08-02, 05:28 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Poseidon79 View Post
      Please enlighten us with your infinite wisdom as to what you would consider significan't upgrades to the current device that would warrant your attention.
      Uh, how about things that have not already been mentioned... repeatedly... I'm not saying the iPhone 5 will not be awesome - I hope it is - I'm saying this "news" is completely worthless.
    1. RICO_'s Avatar
      RICO_ - 2011-08-02, 05:43 PM
      A taller screen, but more narrow? No thanks! Hard enough using the on-screen keyboard in portrait mode with a screen that's barely 2" wide.....now they want to make it MORE narrow? Nuh uh! I'll pass.
    1. Poseidon79's Avatar
      Poseidon79 - 2011-08-02, 05:53 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Rokesomesmeefer View Post
      Uh, how about things that have not already been mentioned... repeatedly... I'm not saying the iPhone 5 will not be awesome - I hope it is - I'm saying this "news" is completely worthless.
      Remind me what has already been mentioned... repeatedly.
    1. NakedFaerie's Avatar
      NakedFaerie - 2011-08-02, 05:55 PM
      Thinner than iPhone 4... So they arn't happy with the ratio of breaking iPhones so they want to make it thinner so there is more chance of breaking so more sell....
      How about make it stronger instead of thinner so it lasts longer. That will make the customer more happy.
    1. Rokesomesmeefer's Avatar
      Rokesomesmeefer - 2011-08-02, 06:10 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Poseidon79 View Post
      Remind me what has already been mentioned... repeatedly.
      For the sake of not mentioning things repeatedly, I'll refrain. Really, you can't figure that out from my original comment? Did I really need to enclose it in <sarcasm> tags?
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