14 DAY TRIAL // An analyst with investment bank Jefferies has issued a research note according to which Apple will roll out an incremental iPhone 5S this summer, breaking away from the recently-established fall refresh cycle.
Peter Misek reportedly sees the iPhone 5S boasting a new “super HD camera/screen, a better battery, and NFC,” as well as “possible updates include an IGZO screen for Retina+, 128GB storage.”
This and “6 to 8 colors” – he expects Apple to finally dress up the iPhone in something other than black and white.
The analyst has a hit and miss track record, but his predictions regarding Apple’s iPhone business have been historically accurate. Misek was one of the few analysts who insisted that Apple was not launching the iPhone 5 in 2011, but an “iPhone 4S.”
If a leak by ETrade Supply is to be trusted, Apple’s upcoming iPhone refresh will indeed be incremental.
A case leak points to the development of an iPhone 5S bearing physical resemblance to the current generation of iPhones but slight internal modifications.
These alterations could well be for the enhanced display assembly and a bigger battery, as well as the inclusion of NFC hardware (chip + antenna).
Apple wouldn’t be at its first minor iPhone refresh, having incremented the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 4 with the same “S” moniker in past years. These upgrades are generally considered minor, but the changes usually translate into a lot of extra functionality.
The iPhone 5S could also ship with a faster processor, though the iPhone 5 already packs a SoC (system-on-a-chip) that screams performance.
The only Apple processor capable of beating it in performance is the A6X found in the fourth-generation iPad.
A custom (scaled down) version of the silicon could make its way into the iPhone 5S this summer, if everything pans out on the chip manufacturing front.