Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will unveil the next iteration of its iPhone at a media event on Sept. 10, according to a report from AllThingsD.
The report, citing unnamed sources, did not indicate where the event will take place, or if Apple will debut more than one new iPhone model at the event. The timing of the event fits with previous iPhone announcements: Apple announced the iPhone 5 on Sept. 12, 2012.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
Apple is reportedly working on two new iPhone models, which, according to rumors, may be called the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C. The 5C model is reportedly a mid-range device made with lower-cost components and a plastic shell. The 5S will reportedly include biometric fingerprint scanning technology.
Meanwhile, the long-rumored, low-cost iPhone was apparently confirmed last month in a report by advocacy group China Labor Watch, which took Apple supplier Pegatron to task for labor practices that include using underage workers, paying insufficient wages and forcing employees to work overtime. The low-cost iPhone, which many analysts have speculated Apple will release this fall to capture more of the smartphone market, was mentioned several times in the report.
Pegatron, which is reportedly assembling the low-cost iPhone for Apple, said it expects revenue in its communications and consumer electronics segments to grow 40-50 percent in the third quarter compared to the last quarter, according to Reuters. That could indicate a ramp up in shipments for Apple.
In its latest quarter Apple reported a decline in its quarterly net profit, from $8.8 billion a year ago to $6.9 billion in its most recent quarter. But the company's sales of iPhones during the period--31.2 million units, up from the 26 million it sold in the year-ago quarter--beat Wall Street expectations of around 27 million units. Apple CEO Tim Cook partially attributed the company's better-than-expected iPhones sales on shipments of the company's older iPhone 4.
Apple's board is concerned about the company's product pipeline and whether Cook has the ability to continue to deliver innovative products, according to a recent Fox Business report. The report, citing unnamed sources inside Apple, said that while Cook is in no danger of losing his job, there is increasing concern "at the board level about the pace of innovation." Presumably, if Apple's board has insight into the company's long-term product roadmap, this concern is about products or potential products that will debut this year.
For more:
- see this AllThingsD article
- see this 9to5Mac article
- see this CNET article
- see this Reuters article
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