9to5Mac claims that there are indeed two new iPhone models: the "low-end" iPhone 4-look alike that we've seen parts for already, and the teardrop shaped iPhone 5 (artist rendition below).
N94 (left), and iPhone 5 artist rendition (right)
But they also claim that this new iPhone 5 design is seeing design and production delays so there may be shortages into 2012:
It appears that the tear-drop shaped iPhone 5 with larger screen and thinner, rounder body is seeing continued design and production delays, at least on one assembly line (Apple has multiple production sources – Pegatron, Foxconn, etc). We therefore think that iPhone 5 will be delayed slightly at the very least and may see shortages all the way into 2012.
Apple is expected to hold a media event announcing the iPhone 5 later this month, but has been known to pre-announce products that won't be available for some period of time. Most recently, Apple's Thunderbolt Display was announced to be delivered "within 60 days". With the iPhone, Apple will certainly try to minimize that delay in order to avoid suppressing sales during the holiday quarter. To be clear, the iPhone 5 announcement may still be "weeks away", but availability and stock of the iPhone 5 may be limited to start, if this rumor is to be believed.
Apple's annual iPhone announcement is already much later in the year than usual. In the past 4 years, Apple has launched a new iPhone in the summer, while this year's launch has still not been officially confirmed.
Meanwhile, MacRumors has also heard through a supplier that the case manufacturers are very confident that the leaked case designs are representative of the iPhone 5. There's been some speculation about how certain the case manufacturers need to be to start mass producing these early case designs. At least according to one of our contacts, they seem very certain.
Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon.
Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week.
iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you.
Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports.
In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by Juli Clover
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products.
Here's what's supposedly coming:
An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found.
Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker.
According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by Juli Clover
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup.
Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...
Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities.
According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...
It's your subjective opinion. Please state it as such and not as an objective fact, otherwise it looks like you're preaching some kind of gospel and it's annoying to people who aren't as "into" Apple as you might be. And it's 2 models of iPhone, not 1. And if there was 20 iPhone models, I'd doubt the numbers would be much different. People buy the iPhone despite it being 1 model. With Android there's choice and competition and thus people are more free to get what they want in a handset.
Apple introducing more iPhone models would canabilize and diversify the iPhone landscape, they wouldn't suddenly take over the world and have 99% market share.
I don't believe that Android's sales are driven by people looking at its features, its openness and making a choice... They're available on EVERY carrier at EVERY price point starting at free... Not to mention that there are many many many many models...
When the average person buys an Android phone they're thinking "Its like an iPhone but..." Fill in the end... Its cheaper, its on Sprint, its on sale with a buy one get one...
I'm not saying that Android is a bad OS... Its actually good... But educated consumer choice isn't the driving factor that is giving it its sales numbers. Its price, availability and market saturation.
No! No! No! No! This cannot be happening!!!!!! My obsession over this phone is not healthy! Apple for the sake of my sanity and many others, announce it please!!! I beg of you!!! Stop doing this to us!
