14 DAY TRIAL // Bummer news out of Taiwan for whoever was holding off their iPhone 5 purchase to get the much-enhanced iPhone 5S this year. Apparently, the handset will not sport any revolutionary new features and, in fact, will be a modest upgrade, according to DigiTimes.
The Taiwanese trade publication has a so-and-so track record when it comes to Apple rumors, but the site has been reliable in the past.
The usual upstream supply chain sources are telling the paper that “Components for the next-generation iPhone will start shipping at the end of May,” which will allow Apple to ship the assembled handsets in Q3.
The same sources released a rather disturbing piece of information as well. The report adds, “The new iPhone will not receive a major upgrade and may just be a slightly enhanced version of iPhone 5 (iPhone 5S).”
The publication then proceeds to mention rumors about a plasticky version of the handset that Apple supposedly plans to sell cheaper.
While the low-cost iPhone rumor is nothing new, the fact that the iPhone 5S is labeled as a minor upgrade is serious news.
If true, Apple will not only allow Samsung to take the lion’s share of the smartphone market, but it will also lose a lot of points with its own fan base.
Apple may not be what it used to be under Steve Jobs’ lead, but the user base still expects innovation from the Cupertino giant.
Even if the next iPhone is an incremental “S” upgrade (like in previous years), Apple still needs a differentiator either in hardware or in software to drive new sales.
For what it’s worth, DigiTimes’ sources said that the iPhone 5S is expected to sport “a higher-end processor [and] higher-megapixel camera modules.”
Not very encouraging.