iPhone 5 Will Be Slimmer Thanks to New Display Technology, Says Analyst

A Morgan Stanley analyst issued a note this week with projections for Apple’s first and second half of 2012, including prognostications for an iPad 3 and the much-anticipated iPhone 5.

Katy Huberty, of investment bank Morgan Stanley, said (among other things) "Apple will also launch iPad 3 in H1 and a slimmer iPhone later this year."

The analyst claims to have learned that Apple is using new touch panel technology that will enable the company to make the phone thinner than the current generation of iPhones.

Huberty also said Apple is "considering" the use of new casing materials. It has been rumored that the fifth-generation iPhone will boast a tapered aluminum back, similar to that of the iPad 2.

Furthermore, Huberty says, the next-generation iPhone will boast a quad-mode chip designed by Qualcomm that would allow the device to "run on all 3G and LTE network flavors."

The analyst cautioned that it was "too early to know for sure," but added that if Apple were to sign a deal with China Mobile to carry the iPhone 5, it would act as a sign that the phone does indeed use the Qualcomm chip and LTE (4G) standard.

"What is clear about iPhone 5 is that Apple and its supply chain are positively surprised by the demand for iPhone 4S, which increases confidence in strong sales for iPhone 5 later this year,” added Huberty. “Overall, the supply chain looks for stronger than market growth for both the iPhone (50%+ y/y vs. market 20-30%) and the iPad (20-40% growth, higher with a lower priced iPad 2)," she wrote.

As for the iPad 3, Huberty believes production will accelerate at the end of this quarter, and that said device has a higher resolution display.