News

Report: New iPhone, iPad Launching in September

• By Keith Ward
• June 5, 2012

Apple may be unveiling two new products, including a new version of the iPhone, this September, according to a popular blog.

The news and rumors site AppleInsider reported Monday that joining the iPhone for a September release could be a smaller version of the iPad, aimed at the tablet space currently dominated by Amazon's Kindle Fire.

One of the biggest potential iPhone changes is a larger screen, according to the report. The smartphone's display has been 3.5 inches since it debuted. Speculation is now rampant that the new screen could be 4 inches, which would be closer the size display of many popular Android phones.

The last iPhone, the 4S, launched last October, and Apple typically releases one new model every year.

In contrast, the new iPad screen could shrink. The rumored iPad's screen is allegedly about 7.85 inches, nearly two inches smaller than the current iPad's 9.7-inch display.

To compete more directly with the Fire, however, a price drop would also need to happen. The cheapest new iPad is $499, while the Fire, Amazon's best-selling product, comes in at a starting point of $199.

AppleInsider credited much of the report's information to Analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets. White is allegedly in Taiwan and picked up the details from his "supply chain sources." Apple is notoriously secretive and hard to predict, however, and rumors like this often turn out to be inaccurate.