iPhone 5 production set to begin – Report

Opinion
Jan 30, 20122 mins

iPhone 5 production is reportedly set to begin soon, perhaps signaling a Summer release date for Apple's next-gen iPhone

Citing a reliable source, 9to5Mac reported a few days ago that iPhone 5 production is set to begin soon, perhaps signaling a Summer release date for Apple’s next-gen iPhone.

The source in question dropped a few interesting nuggets of information:

  • 4+ inch display (made by LG on at least one of them).
  • No teardrop-shaped devices, as rumored in the lead up to the iPhone 4S. Samples so far have been symmetrical in thickness (also longer/wider).
  • Neither of the sample devices have the iPhone 4/4S form factor.
  • Neither of the devices are the final versions.

So a new form factor coupled with a larger display. So far so good – and while only Apple at this point truly knows what the iPhone 5 will feature, rumblings of a 4-inch screen iPhone have been showing up much more frequently these days.

Furthermore, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu wrote a few weeks ago that the iPhone 5 will support 4G LTE networks and will feature “a sleeker, thinner form factor, and a slightly larger screen.”

But throwing a dose of reality onto the rumor mill, John Gruber – who has a solid track record when it comes to discerning which Apple rumors have legs – wrote that iPhone 5 production is not, in fact, gearing up for production.

What’s more, Gruber is skeptical that the iPhone 5 will be both longer and wider.

Longer and wider? … I can see Apple putting a bigger display on a device of the same size. I can’t see them making a bigger device.

Which of course brings to mind all those old rumors of an iPhone 5 with an edge to edge screen.

yoni heisler

Yoni Heisler is a technology writer and Mac nerd who's been using Apple products for well over 21 years. He actively covers a wide variety of Apple topics, from legal news and rumors to current events and even Apple related comedy and history. Got an idea, comment or suggestions? You can reach him at iOnApple1@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @EdibleApple where he's also a part-time contributor.

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