Apple Preparing 'Thinner and Lighter' iPhone for Third Quarter Launch

iphone 4 side shotThe Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is indeed preparing a new iPhone for a launch during the third quarter of this year, with an initial production target of 25 million units through the end of the year.

"Apple's sales estimates of the new iPhone is quite aggressive. It told us to prepare to help the company meet its goal of 25 million units by the end of the year," said another person at one of Apple's suppliers. "The initial production volume will be a few million units... we were told to ship the components to assembler Hon Hai in August."

Countering claims that the next-generation iPhone will be nearly identical in appearance to the iPhone 4, the Journal's sources indicate that the new device will be "thinner and lighter" and that Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn/Hon Hai is having difficulties with yield rate on the new device due to it being "complicated and difficult to assemble."

Two of the people, however, cautioned that shipments of the new iPhone could be delayed if Hon Hai can't improve its yield rate as the new iPhone is "complicated and difficult to assemble."

Reports over the past few months have been pointing to a September release for the next-generation iPhone, which has been said to carry Apple's A5 processor found in the iPad 2, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a baseband chip from Qualcomm to support both GSM and CDMA networks.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...

Top Rated Comments

Coastercub Avatar
170 months ago
Surely they can't make it much thinner, I'd rather it was the same thickness and fill the extra space with a little more battery !
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wordoflife Avatar
170 months ago
I wonder how much thinner Apple will be able to make these things.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
korndawg Avatar
170 months ago
I'm in agreenment that the Iphone 4 is thin enuff. Id take a lil bigger battery over shaving off a few mm's of the thickness of the phone.
I love this mockup. It looks much more comforable to hold:



Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lesser Evets Avatar
170 months ago
I love the dueling rumors: no major revisions, thinner & lighter, no iPhone, A5 with better camera, etc. I'm pretty sure they are all guessing and talking crap, like us.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
paul4339 Avatar
170 months ago
if it were a trade off of having say, iPod-like thin vs additional battery, I think I'd sooner have more battery.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
j_maddison Avatar
170 months ago
They are thinking of all the women asking:

Does this make me look fat?

I just reply with... No it's your arse that makes you look fat :D .... yes I'm single lol
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)