Apple LTE-enabled iPhone Due in 2012, iPhone 4S Preparations for September 2011

iphone 4 side shot

Though not a particular surprise, Digitime's sources claim that the LTE-enabled "iPhone 4S" is unlikely to launch until 2012.

Apple is likely to delay the launch of its LTE-enabled iPhones to 2012, said the sources, noting that the industry had also long been skeptical about the launch of LTE iPhones in 2011 as the implementation of LTE networks has not yet matured.

LTE is the next generation data transfer technology beyond 3G and is frequently labeled 4G. Both AT&T and Verizon are supporting LTE as their next generation data protocol.

Digitimes' report confusingly refers to the 2012 iPhone as the "4S" which is the name also given to expected 2011 iPhone. In a separate report Digitimes says that Apple is already lowering iPhone 4 orders in the second quarter of 2011 in anticipation of the new model in September.

Production of iPhone 4S will begin in August and the earliest launch may be in September. All the 3G and CDMA chips for iPhone 4S will be supplied by Qualcomm and the rear camera will be upgraded to a 8-megapixel resolution model with OmniVision Technologies and Taiwan-based Largan Precision to supply image sensors and lens kits respectively, the sources indicated.

Apple is widely expected to launch a new iPhone around September this year, but most have expected that support for 4G networks would likely wait until 2012. Other reports have also said that the proper LTE chips simply won't be ready for production in 2011.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
iOS 18

Apple Expected to Release iOS 18.3 Next Week With These New Features

Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3. Notification Summary Changes Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries Apple Intelligence...
Apple Pay Walmart Feature

Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today. A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
truecaller

Truecaller iOS Update Rolls Out Real-Time Caller ID Support

Wednesday January 22, 2025 2:07 am PST by
Popular caller ID app Truecaller is rolling out an update that brings real-time caller ID support to its iOS subscribers. Apple introduced Live Caller ID Lookup in iOS 18, allowing third-party caller ID apps to securely retrieve information about a caller from their servers, hence today's Truecaller update. iPhone users can enable the Live Caller ID Lookup feature by going to Settings ➝ ...
ipad pro 2024

New iPad Pro Reportedly Launching This Year

Tuesday January 21, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple plans to release at least one new iPad Pro model this year, according to a supplier-focused report today from Korean website The Elec. It is likely that the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models would be updated simultaneously. After receiving an OLED display last year, the report said the iPad Pro will receive only "minor" changes this year. Overall, the next iPad Pro is expected to...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Launching This Year With These New Features

Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device. The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...

Top Rated Comments

ThisIsNotMe Avatar
179 months ago
Your spiffy new A5 (which really isn't that great of a processor, compared to a lot of what's already in the Android universe) won't make a whit of difference when every app being released is designed to support the A-4 and millions of iP4 users.

It's like the PS3 v. 360 -- the PS3 is loads more powerful, but most games are designed to be cross-platform, so they're programmed to the 360's specs and the PS3 doesn't see it's increased muscle get flexed.

It's a minor upgrade. At best, you'll end up with a phone that launches Safari quickly only to see it bottlenecked by low-speed 3G access while everyone else screams by on high-speed connections. Congratulations, you just re-bought the last 14.4K bps modem while everyone else was going to Ethernet.

Ya, sure looks like the A5 gets trounced by those pesky Android devices :rolleyes:

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr Fusion Avatar
179 months ago
Once again, I'm happy to be on the "even" iPhone upgrade cycle. :)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThisIsNotMe Avatar
179 months ago
I don't get why everyone is pissy over the 4 "GS" because the upgrade is "minor".

Did people no need the A5 vs A4 benchmarks in the iPad vs iPad 2?

It like saying that the 3G to 3GS upgrade was minor. The 3G to 3GS upgrade was probably the biggest leap in hardware.

Everyone is bitching because the case will stay the same...but all I have to say is 'so what'.

The inclusion of the A5 is a MAJOR upgrade. Period.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
propynyl Avatar
179 months ago
2011, the year Apple hands Google's Android the lead on a silver platter.

The iPhone 3GS was the first iPhone that gave the competition a year to catch up. Now they're giving them another 18months!? Lazy.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jason2811 Avatar
179 months ago
Do people not understand how numbers work? If this next iPhone is indeed named the 4S, the phone that comes out in 2012 will not be called the iPhone 5. How would that make ANY sense to name the 6th revision of the phone the #5?

There are two options here: iPhone, 3G, 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 6 OR keep the normal number system iPhone (1), 3G (2), 3GS (3), iPhone 4, iPhone 5, iPhone 6.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rfahey Avatar
179 months ago
Everytime you guys post a "4s" rumor i want to virtually slap you 'cross the face.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)