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Apple unlikely to release the 5.5-inch iPhone and iWatch in December as rumored

 

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GforGames is today running a piece based on a Weibo post, claiming that both the 5.5-inch version of the iPhone 6 and iWatch will be released in December.

December would be an extremely unlikely time for Apple to launch a new product. Many people will already have made holiday gift purchases by then, while others would have unleashed their gadget fund on Black Friday, which this year falls on 28th November. Apple has however released 27-inch iMacs and Mac Pro in December, likely due to production delays. Professional type machines like this are far less likely to be affected by holiday shopping.

There have been persistent rumors (silly and otherwise) that the 5.5-inch version of the iPhone 6 will go on sale later than the 4.7-inch model, with some even suggesting the larger model may not be available until next year. But the production schedule for the larger model has been reported to be lagging only a few weeks behind that of the 4.7-inch handset, with Apple reputedly placing combined orders of 70-80M units for this year.

A recent analyst analysis of Apple’s new product investment seemingly suggests a bumper quarter for Apple this quarter, suggesting that the iWatch will be launched alongside, or close to, the iPhone 6. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has, however, suggested that mass production of the iWatch may have been pushed back from September to November. While actually going on sale in December isn’t impossible, we’d expect Apple to announce it significantly earlier.

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Comments

  1. Tim Jr. - 10 years ago

    Apple, with only a few exceptions, prefers to announce then release within 2-3 weeks after announcement.. They know people have short attention spans and that it’s important to release shortly after announcement to get the initial sales boost.

    I’ve always thought that was why Palm had so much trouble. They’d announce a product then not release for 3-6 months later. By then people have moved on..

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      Untrue. They announced the iPhone long before it was available. They announced the iPad 1/27/10, preorders for wifi version started 3/12/10, and it released 4/3/10, and 3G on 4/30/10. So for new product categories, anything can happen. It matters so much more for products you already have available. You don’t want to announce a new generation of a product to absolutely kill sales of the old version. Yes, a lot of people hold off based on rumors and normal upgrade timeframes but not all, which would be the case if they announced a new version of a product they already have………

      • hungarianhc - 10 years ago

        Good point re: new “categories” ~ An example of this might be an iWatch… If they can’t release til Jan / Feb, I could totally see them announcing the device to keep people from buying competing products for Christmas.

      • “with only a few exceptions”

        Read before commenting.

      • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

        @Israel I read that and still commented because he completely ignored what ‘few exceptions’ he was referring to, which were new product categories, which is literally what he is commenting on when he mentions the iWatch.

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      Sorry I meant the fact that the article us talking about the iWatch.

  2. Mario Plötner - 10 years ago

    ok how likely is 5,5 inch iPhone anyway? We saw so many leaks but how many did we see of a Phone of this size?

  3. Maybe Apple will save the 5.5′ iPhone for next year, avoiding the cannibalization that releasing 2 sizes at the same time could cause.

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      There wouldn’t be any cannibalization, hence why they are making both. People will either buy one or the other, and one of them will obviously sell more. The only thing that will happen is that they will sell more because some people will not buy one unless it is the size of their head.

  4. And everyone thinks I’m nuts when I say no iWatch in 2014. It’s not over yet, but I have never thought we’d see it this year. *cough* time will tell…

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      They’ll release it this year unless something happens in which they absolutely have to push it back as to not release a bad product. Sorry but it is clearly scheduled for this year, it is happening.

  5. rettun1 - 10 years ago

    I think it makes sense that we won’t see the wearable released this year. It seems Apple has only very recently acquired very crucial personnel for the project. Maybe we will get an announcement this year, but isn’t surprised if it gets released in 2014

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      Umm… no. It is clearly planned for this year, and it will be released this year unless they absolutely have to push it back. What is really really sad to me is that people don’t understand that Apple will make future generations of this device, like they have with virtually every single other device they’ve ever released. It turns out that Apple will hire for the iWatch until they don’t make it any longer, just as they still hire for the iPhone… They have it, it’s almost done, and it will be released by the end of the year. This is one product they could easily announce and allow preorders for, long before it is released (i.e. preorders before holiday shopping, for December release, as it’s a new category).

      • rettun1 - 10 years ago

        I don’t think its a stretch to say that Apple really wants the first generation of the wearable to be a slam dunk. They need it to outshine other smart watches, which I think is likely as this has seemingly been in development for 4+ years.

        It’s just that it seems like the most recent hires (within the past year and a half) all have critical roles in the functions of the devices rumored capabilities. I don’t remember the names unfortunately, but Apple’s hired people for the job include a ‘sleep scientist’, correlating to its sleep tracking abilities. And people who worked at companies that worked on measuring inner body biometrics by means of noninvasive sensors, which will probably be the hallmark feature of the device itself. So unless Apple was to pull together most of the design of the device only a year or two before it’s released (which doesn’t seem impossible now that I think about it), I think they just could use a little more time to make it perfect.

        Then again, both the iPhone and iPad were released with “glaring omissions” (no 3G or GPS, and no cameras on ipad), and they went on to become the best selling devices for years and years

  6. herb02135go - 10 years ago

    In case you haven’t heard, there are already many great devices that have larger screens.

    I’m using one right now.

  7. prata (@pratafw) - 10 years ago

    there won’t be any iPhone in 5.5 inches, didn’t anybody think that it is 2 years from last iPod touch release? so it is more probable that we will see an iPod 6th generation in 5.5 inches with same resolution and less dpi than the iPhone 6 in 4.7 than a “more premium” (?) version of iPhone 6 in that size (unless they introduce 2 new different resolutions for two new sizes of phones… because it doesn’t make sense to have a more premium iPhone with less dpi)

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      There won’t be a more premium version. Look at the iPad Air and iPad mini with retina. They are identical aside from the screen size and battery.

  8. RP - 10 years ago

    A better time for the larger version, if there even is one is March or May.

    As far as the wearable, when it’s ready, it’s ready. No need to pin a timetable on something there is no need to rush to market. They will do themselves more harm releasing something that is not up to the hype or Apple standards than waiting to make sure it meets Apple’s reputation for quality and attention to detail.
    After all, Apple’s reputation as a quality high end product is what will get people to wear it as either fashion or utility. Android and Microsoft have no such cache to loose, hence the rushed garbage they have released. Cementing or perpetuation their reputations as such.

    • o0smoothies0o - 10 years ago

      You’re right in that it’s better for them to wait, but that’s exactly what they’ve been doing. They’ve had this in development for a long time, and they have been taking their time to get it right, this is the year for it. They could have easily released one of the garbage smart watches currently available, years ago. This is far better than any smart watch currently available, because they understand that a wearable has the distinction that it is constantly attached to your body. With this in mind, obviously the best thing to do with that is biometric tracking. No smart watch does what this will do, what it’s intended to do. They will after they see it and copy it though.

      • Dan (@danmdan) - 10 years ago

        One man’s “garbage” watch is another’s smart watch – it depends on what the buyer is looking for in a Smartwatch. Since many of the US population are overweight then an Apple Smartwatch with, it is rumored, mainly health monitoring sensors may not be what the man/woman in the street wants !

        My nomination for an existing smartwatch with a good balance of facilities is the Pebble Steel; I wear it often.

  9. Anyone who thinks that releasing the 5.5 inch iPhone 6 at the same time as the 4.7, will cannibalize the sales of the smaller variant, is obviously an Android toting moron.

    • herb02135go - 10 years ago

      I hope no one here twists an ankle back – peddling over this rumor dispelling a rumor.

      The only thing you should be twisting are your panties for having an emotional investment.
      Such a sorry gaggle of geese.

  10. Dan (@danmdan) - 10 years ago

    The “general public” as opposed to the Apple enthusiasts, will buy for Christmas that which is available – they will not distinguish between smart watches from Apple, Samsung, Google, and others. So if the (fabled ?) iWatch is not availabe pre-December 2014 then other smart watches will be bought instead – and thus an opportunity will have been missed !

    • RP - 10 years ago

      No one is buying or will ever buy the garbage smart watches on the market right now, so Apple is not losing sales to anyone.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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