What Analysts Expect From the Next iPhones No one outside Apple really knows what products the company will introduce next, but that hasn’t stopped Wall Street analysts from prognosticating about potential new iPhones. Apple is widely expected to introduce new iPhones in September. In general, analysts are anticipating an upgraded version of the iPhone 5, which many are referring to as the iPhone 5S, with a fingerprint sensor for getting past the lock screen. They also predict a lower-cost iPhone with a plastic body that will be available in multiple colors, widely referred to the iPhone 5C. Here’s a quick roundup of what they are saying. Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst for KGI Securities, who has accurately predicted the details for some Apple products in the past, thinks the so-called iPhone 5S will have a faster processor, an improved camera flash and a fingerprint sensor for security. Last year, Apple acquired AuthenTec, a company that designs fingerprint sensors. In a research note, Mr. Kuo said he thought Apple would change the shape of the home button so that it bulges outward to create space for the sensor, and that the button’s material would be changed from plastic to sapphire to prevent damage to the sensor. Mr. Kuo also predicts the low-cost iPhone will be a version of the iPhone 5 with a case made of fiberglass and plastic and available in various colors, and that it will be heavier than the aluminum case of the iPhone 5. Brian Marshall, an analyst for International Strategy and Investment, said Apple is due for an iPhone with a larger screen to compete with bigger phones offered by Samsung. He predicts (and hopes) that a big-screen iPhone will be about 5 inches diagonally. Gene Munster, an analyst for Piper Jaffray Investment Research, who has repeatedly predicted an Apple television set that has yet to materialize, said he believed that the lower-cost iPhone will not only have cheaper parts, but also exclude software features like Siri. This seems unlikely, however, because the older, lower-cost iPhone 4S offers Siri. Amit Daryanani, an analyst for RBC Capital Markets, would only guess about the release date for a new iPhone — predicting either the second or third week of September. (In the past, Apple has released new iPhones about 10 days after introducing them.)
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 04:13:04 +0000
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