Rumors surfaced last week that Apple
The latest talk out of iMore is now that Apple will be holding a special event in just over a month, on Sept. 12. The next iPhone will supposedly be unveiled that day, with a full-blown launch just nine days later on Sept. 21. Also on the rumor deck are the fabled iPad Mini, a new iPod nano, and potentially even a new iPod touch.
If true, that would be slightly earlier than last year's unveiling, which took place on Oct. 4, with Steve Jobs dying the very next day. This year's model is expected to be a major upgrade, which is already causing many prospective buyers to hold off and led to Apple's relatively soft third-quarter results last week.
Much as talk of a late iPhone launch held shares back before, today's talk of an earlier launch are boosting Apple's shares, which now stand up roughly 2% while the broader market is mostly flat as of this writing. One reason last year saw such a late launch was that Apple launched the Verizon
The next iPhone can't get here soon enough for Apple as competition from the Google
Vendor |
Q2 2012 Units |
Q2 2012 Market Share |
Q2 2011 Units |
Q2 2011 Market Share |
---|---|---|---|---|
Samsung | 50.2 million | 32.6% | 18.4 million | 17% |
Apple | 26 million | 16.9% | 20.4 million | 18.8% |
Nokia |
10.2 million | 6.6% | 16.7 million | 15.4% |
Source: IDC. Note: Only top three smartphone vendors shown.
Nokia's share has fallen into the single digits as its unit shipments declined while the overall market soared by 42% to 153.9 million units.
Samsung has been executing incredibly well over the past year, and the numbers speak for themselves. Even if supply is constrained because of component shortages, Apple needs to get the iPhone out the door post-haste.
The next iPhone is expected to see unprecedented upgrade activity among users, which is one reason Apple still has upside. For more, sign up for this brand-new premium research service that's all Apple, all the time. Meanwhile, there's another smartphone and tablet component supplier that's much less affected by the aforementioned shortages and is leveraging that into market-share gains. This special free report will tell you all about it.