iPhone 5 may be slimmer than previous models, analyst says

Posted in iPhone News by admin. Published January 15th, 2012

iPhone 5 may be slimmer than previous models, analyst says

Apple Inc. may use new touch-panel technology for an iPhone 5 with a thinner body than previous models and might introduce the product in the quarter ending in June, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said.

The Cupertino, California-based company’s is also considering new casing materials for the iPhone, its best- selling product, according to Huberty, who has an “overweight” rating on Apple.

The new iPhone may use Qualcomm Inc.’s quad mode chip with the capability to run on all 3G and long-term evolution networks, Huberty said. With a thinner body and the Qualcomm chip, the next iPhone may represent more of a change than the 4S model introduced last year as users look to upgrade.

Apple and its supply chain are “surprised by the demand for the iPhone 4S, which increases confidence in strong sales for iPhone 5 later this year,” Huberty said in the report.

Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Cos., said in a research note on Jan. 11 that most iPhone users, according to his survey work, were looking to purchase a new model, and that with a different design, an iPhone 5 could be “a monster upgrade.” Munster also has an “overweight” rating on Apple.

The iPhone, the world’s most popular smartphone, and related products and services accounted for 39 percent of Apple’s fiscal fourth-quarter sales and 43 percent of annual sales in the year ended in September, according to a company filing.

The company is scheduled to report earnings Jan. 24 for its first quarter, which ended in December.

Apple fell 0.5 percent to $419.17 at 10:58 a.m. in New York. The shares gained 26 percent last year.

[Thanks: http://www.washingtonpost.com]