Has Apple had a change of heart and decided to released the iPhone 5 earlier than the rumored October date? Hit the jump to check out the latest rumor.
iPhone 5 may arrive earlier then expected this year. Late August or early September, just in time for back to school season.
This rumor comes from China’s Sina.com, who cites sources at a bunch of Apple suppliers in Taiwan. According to them, Apple requested to expedite component manufacture and shipments in July, getting ready for mass production and shipment in August.
Why would Apple alter its plans and release the new iPhone earlier than it did last year? Boosting weak projected Q3 numbers might be one of the reasons.
Last year, as the new iPhone launch was pushed from traditional June to October, Apple’s sales in Q3 2011 were an unexpected disappointment to Wall Street. That delay, of course, led to a blockbuster fourth quarter and all the disappointments were forgotten.
This year there’s already a big slowdown in Europe, caused by the debt crisis. And we even had some reports of slowing iPhone sales in U.S. With all that, going through Q3 with a traditional pre-new iPhone demand slump, might be too much for Apple. And a full month or even a few weeks of new iPhone sales in the third quarter will bump up the numbers a lot.
Plus, Samsung, HTC and other Android vendors were probably banking on October iPhone 5 launch, pushing their wares in September un-harassed by the new Apple phone. The early Fall iPhone 5 launch will screw up all the competition plans big time. Especially in U.S.
