It was widely expected that Apple won't launch a 4G LTE iPhone this year, so it didn't come as a surprise that iPhone 4S - Apple's fifth generation iPhone unveiled at yesterday's Let's talk iPhone event didn't support 4G LTE networks.
However, the lack of redesigned iPhone 5 and no 4G support seems to have raised expectations that Apple will launch a redesigned 4G LTE iPhone in the summer of 2012. The bad news is that it seems highly unlikely that Apple will be able to launch a 4G LTE iPhone before the third quarter of 2012.
Back in April, Will Strauss, President of wireless chip tracker Forward Concepts didn't expect the appropriate 4G chipsets to arrive in time for the fifth generation iPhone. He had gone on to explain how Apple’s competitors have managed to launch smartphones with 4G support:
The only 4G handset on the market in the United States, Verizon’s Thunderbolt, currently relies on a pair of chips to work. One chip, from Samsung, communicates with Verizon’s 4G networks, allowing the handset to achieve blazing data speeds of between 5 and 20 MBPS. Another chip, from Qualcomm, lets the handset talk to Verizon’s 3G network.
That two chip solution is needed because Verizon’s 4G network isn’t widespread enough for the carriers to offer handsets that rely on 4G alone.
Strauss noted that Apple was looking for a solution where chips support 4G and 3G on a single chip so that the 4G LTE iPhone is as thin or thinner than iPhone 4 and it doesn’t consume too much battery life.
According to Strauss, chipmakers like Qualcomm, ST Ericcson and Intel were expected to launch the next generation chips that support 4G and 3G on a single chip towards the end of this year. But AnandTech reports that there has been a slower-than-expected transition to new 28-nanometer chip processes:
As you may have heard however, the move to 28nm at both TSMC and Global Foundries isn't really going all that smoothly. The jump from 4x-nm to 28nm is a very big one, so it's not unexpected to have pretty serious teething problems as the process ramps up. I suspect that an aggressive 28nm roadmap that didn't pan out probably caught a lot of SoC and smartphone vendors in a position where they couldn't ship what they wanted to in 2011.
AnandTech believes that Qualcomm's MDM9615 modem is the ideal chip for Apple's iPhone (especially since Qualcomm's chip is probably used in iPhone 4S and also CDMA iPhone 4) and as you can see from the roadmap below, it is not scheduled to begin shipping until the second quarter of next year, which indicates that the earliest that the 4G LTE iPhone can be introduced is by the third quarter of 2012.
We also expect Apple to launch a new iPhone with at least a year's gap, as anything sooner may not go down with with iPhone 4S users. So expect iPhone 6 (not iPhone 5 as it would be odd for the sixth generation iPhone) to be launched around the same time next year.
So if you were planning to skip buying or upgrading to iPhone 4S in the hope that Apple will launch a 4G LTE iPhone in June or July then you might want to reconsider you decision.
[via AnandTech]
I really don’t expect another iphone release this summer. It’s likely that they’ve changed their strategy to a fall release.
Still not satisfied… I skipped upgrading to IP4 because I was expecting a totally different iphone but now I can’t even take the SGII because of all the apps I bought in the last 3 years, it will be like throwing money out of the windows… It’s another 2 years on contract with a phone I am forced to get because my 3GS is ageing now… That was a fail Apple
If you spent all that money on apps you shoulf have considered a jailbreak. I say keep doing it; makes my stock better. As far as not being able to upgrade it sounds like its a fail on your part.
In all honesty, what were most of us really expecting? Would it have been any different if they slapped on the name iphone 5 and made it slightly thinner?
The 4s makes sense in the next evolutionary step of iphones. Competitors can slap on LTE 4g, quad core processors, etc., but what good would that do for the user experience? It’s just tech jargon for the geeks. Put those android phones side by side with an iphone 4s for common tasks, then you can talk about speed and reliability. That’s what it comes down to.
Apple sells the user experience while android sells specs. Choose the phone/network that works best for you and be done with it. The next best thing will always be around the corner.
Well said. what good is the hardware of the software and user experience are sacrificed. It boggles my mind that so many people are saying “This is crap…I’m getting an android phone so I can have a 1.2 Ghz processor” seriously?! If you want to get an android phone get it because it’s a better phone for your needs, not because apple didn’t give you the specs you wanted so you’re going to the next best thing.
Still not satisfied… I skipped upgrading to IP4 because I was expecting a totally different iphone but now I can’t even take the SGII because of all the apps I bought in the last 3 years, it will be like throwing money out of the windows… It’s another 2 years on contract with a phone I am forced to get because my 3GS is ageing now…
What’s wrong with releasing a half version every year rather than a full refresh every year? This is what Intel does with their CPU’s “Tick-Tock” refresh cycling. One generation they come out with a totally new desgin/architecture/etc that typically results in a huge jump in performance and a second generation they do a slight speed bump plus power savings etc. The latter is the “Tick” and the former is the big “TOCK”.
My point for this is that it seems fine to me to designate the next iPhone as the “5″ if Apple’s going with the same cycle patterning as Intel, which so far they appear to be doing:
iPhone 1st gen (2G) -> 3G = TOCK!
iPhone 2nd gen (3G) -> 3GS = Tick
iPhone 3rd gen (3GS) -> 4 = TOCK!!
iPhone 4th gen -> 4S = Tick
iPhone 5th gen (4S) -> 5 (6th gen) = TOCK!!!
(and by “gen” I really mean iteration, not a whole new generation)
Anyway, so far it looks like this for iPhone 5 (screw you, I don’t want to call it 6):
- New design
- Retina display, no doubling but might reach 720p resolution…but unlikely
- An A6 processor (maybe)
- NFC (I’m pretty sure Apple wants to compete with Google on this)
- Improved Siri
- 8MP camera with further improvement in optics (maybe, I don’t think it’ll get higher res)
- Shoots lasers, teleportation, and time travel (BETA ONLY)
Rumors can ruin everything!
I still have my 3gs and am waiting for the ios5 update on the 12th to see if I want to upgrade my iPhone. I really want to wait for the 4gLTE to upgrade.
More rumors already? Seriously? The damn iPhone 4S was just announced yesterday and isn’t even out yet and this site is already sparking rumors about the next one. What happened to being glad that the announcement was here so we could put all of these rumors to rest? This site should be renamed to iPhone Rumors. All of these stories are just recycled from MacRumors these days anyway. I might as well just start reading it there and get my info an hour or two earlier.
If you don’t want to read rumors, you can always skip the articles, no one is forcing you to read the article. If you don’t have anything valuable to add or discuss that is relevant to the article other than complaint then zip it and go visit MacRumors. Good riddance!
They delay is too much, Apple should hurry.
It’s not apple’s way to release something that will only have coverage in small portions of cities. ie. Verizon LTE service, not to mention having the battery drained when you turn it on. Apple will wait till next year when all carriers have a LTE network and they can improve performance and style. I have seen the 4g phones out there and it’s like having my old motorola cell phone from 1993, a ‘brick!’ no thanks I’ll stick with apple!
We will have to wait intill the fall of 2012 for a new iPhone that will once agien change everything … I got a year on my contract I will wait…