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iPhone 6 coming as early as September, likely in 4.7-5.5-inch varieties says Nikkei

apple-iphone-6-conceptThere’s not a whole lot here that we haven’t heard before, but today Nikkei Asian Review reports that orders into component suppliers indicate Apple’s next-gen iPhone will debut as early as September in two new screen sizes.

As reported previously by Bloomberg, WSJ, and others, Nikkei says Apple will introduce a new 4.7-inch iPhone alongside a larger 5.5-inch model. The report’s cites sources in Apple’s supply chain and says Apple’s display suppliers– Sharp, Japan Display, & LG– plan mass production of LCD panels sometime between April-June:

Manufacturers have apparently begun making such components as fingerprint sensors and chips for liquid-crystal drivers… Mass production of LCD panels will start as early as the April-June quarter at Sharp’s Kameyama factory, Japan Display’s Mobara plant, and at other facilities, according to sources. LG Electronics will supply panels as well. The new handset’s display resolution is expected to be significantly higher than that of current models.

The first part of the report is a given: if Apple follows its past release schedules we’d expect to see a new iPhone unveiling in September. That being said, the publication has correctly predicted some dates in the past, like the September 20th launch of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5c.

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Comments

  1. PMZanetti - 10 years ago

    It would be extremely bizarre if Apple were to do exactly that….for them to offer 4.7 AND 5.5.

    That would be Apple saying, “we don’t know which is best, so were going to give you two choices.”

    While some people might believe that that is what’s best for consumers, it certainly hasn’t worked out well for other manufacturers. What has worked out well for Apple is saying we DO know what’s best and here it is: one flagship model, take it or leave it.

    • The iPad Mini and iPad Air are just that, two sizes. Macbook Air or Pro both come in two sizes. Iphone 5S and 5C two “sizes”. Kind of interesting controversy with your reply

      • lycius84 - 10 years ago

        I have to agree with you. I bought an iPad Mini myself because the regualr sized iPad was too big for me to carry around.

        As for the phones, i’ll see which looks good fits best for me.

      • Hi John,

        You have a excellent point. Is just what fits best for consumers.

        I agree with you.

        Its interesting to see in the future how big can a cell phone be???? It won’t fit on your pocket, you will probably have to carry a bookbag for it and answere/operate your phone from your smartwatch. lol

        Great point of view on your end.

        Thanks,
        SM24

      • PMZanetti - 10 years ago

        You’re right John, and that may very well be the future of the iPhone. Same specs, 2 screen sizes, 2 price points. Thats exactly what we have with the iPad Air & iPad mini w/ retina display.

        There are different factors at play with iPhone…so we’ll see.

      • irelandjnr - 10 years ago

        5s and 5c are the same size. 4.7″ iPhone and the existing 4″ iPhone that is obviously staying around is 2 sizes. Two new sizes for iPhone would, even with dropping the 4s have the iPhone is 3 sizes. That makes no sense. None at all. No, they’ll keep the 5c and 5s around and add a second screen size in the new 4.7″ iPhone 6. End of discussion.

    • alvinguzman - 10 years ago

      Really…what makes phone different from computer – they sell 11, 13, and 15 and they all co-exist and serve a purpose.

    • Nick Grant - 10 years ago

      Its worked out very well for other manufactures in every area of electronics. Have you seen how many phones Samsung sell?

      • PMZanetti - 10 years ago

        No I haven’t…are you aware of any Samsung sales figures? Cause I’m not, and neither is anyone else.

    • PMZanetti - 10 years ago

      I’m not saying it’s not going to happen. I’m not saying it doesn’t make sense for there to be two different sized iPhones at one time (after all, 3.5′ and 4″ have co-existed for a while now).

      What I find to be strange (although not impossible) is for Apple to release two completely new iPhones at the same time. The first argument will be “they did last year with the 5s & 5c”. Sort of…the 5c was a refactored iPhone 5 replacement for the lower price tier.

      It would be a whole other thing for Apple to get behind 2 brand new designs, distinctly different in their own right, at the exact same time. It might work out fine, but it flies against what they’ve done every year for 7 years.

    • I have to imagine that there would also be spec differences, knowing apple there can not be only one difference between a 4.7′ phone and a 5.5′ phone.

      • PMZanetti - 10 years ago

        You’d have to think so…if the iPad Air & iPad mini w/ Retina Display that exist right now didn’t contradict that statement.

  2. Matt Byers - 10 years ago

    interesting…will be hard to pre-order without actually holding both unless there are feature/spec differences besides the size

    • PMZanetti - 10 years ago

      Pretty much my point Matt…despite others pointing out that this is basically exactly what we have today with iPad and iPad mini…..it did not happen this way all on the same day. The iPad mini was introduced as the NEW iPad, while iPad 4 snuck in quietly. Then a year later, iPad Air stole the show….and the iPad mini gained a Retina Display.

      That distinction is huge…Apple didn’t introduce the iPad Air (new design) and iPad mini (new design) all on the same day….they were a year apart….giving each one its day in the spotlight.

      Which is why I have a tough time believing that Apple would introduce more than 1 new iPhone design on the same day.

  3. I would absolutely take the larger one. Heck, if they just put cell-phone calling ability in the iPad Mini I’d be happy.

  4. Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 10 years ago

    Man I just can’t get excited for a new iPhone if both of them are Larger.

    If they did a 4″ and a larger size then ok, cool. Maybe if they fit the 4.7″ in the size of the 5s it would be amazing or something I’d much rather them do a 4″ in the size of a 4s.

    Honestly I’m super happy with the 3.5″ screen on my iPhone 4s but doesn’t have lte…

  5. matthiasf - 10 years ago

    I don’t think there will be 2 new iPhone at the same time, business wise it wouldn’t make much sense.
    Did anybody ever think that the second screen size is for something completely different, maybe a smart remote or something going with the new Apple TV ?

    • irelandjnr - 10 years ago

      There is no 5.5″ device. It’s all bullshit to confuse the competition. Ive talked about “it’s a chess game” in a recent interview when asked to comment on if Apple were working on an iWatch. This 5.5″ talk is more of that. A 4.7″ iPhone on the other hand, in addition to the 4″ iPhone 4, as a second screen size option for iPhone makes a lot of sense however.

      • irelandjnr - 10 years ago

        I meant 4″ iPhone 5s and c. Typo.

  6. evanbeezy - 10 years ago

    A 4.2in and 4.7in display with 1600×900 resolution. Same specs, start at $200 and $229 at 32GB. +$50 for 64GB, +$100 in addition for 128GB. 5c becomes iPhone C with same display and is free at 16GB. 32GB for $50. Make it happen Apple.

  7. Keira Tucker - 10 years ago

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  8. Bart Leijnen - 10 years ago

    5,5 inch doubtful or they have a whole new ecosystem with iwatch or something else. And for sure no significantly higher resolution screens – it’s not in their DNA. Apple is not a company who’s going for the specs but for the best user experience. I thought we all knew this by now.

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Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.