Seems like we just got a fresh crop of iPhone 5 rumors, but then again, this is a new Apple device we’re talking about, so a new rumor every 12 hours is pretty normal.
The latest comes from an analyst at Topeka Capital Markets, Brian J. White, who said he believes the next iPhone will include a larger screen and feature a single-piece unibody construction design similar to that of Apple’s Macbook Pro computers.
AppleInsider has the story, which details White’s predictions for the next version of Apple’s smartphone, expected later this year. White says he thinks we’ll be seeing the iPhone 5, the device’s popular moniker, around the fall, the same as last year’s iPhone 4S. White cites sources and details he gathered during a tour of Apple suppliers’ facilities located in China and Taiwan.
White’s not coming completely out of left field with these details, although the Unibody design could be interesting. The expectation with the next iPhone is that Apple will be looking to refresh the device’s design, since it didn’t do so last time around with the iPhone 4S. The larger screen rumor also has been floating around – White puts it at about 4 inches. The current iPhone’s screen is about 3.5 inches.
Like just about everyone, White also expects Apple to thrown in 4G LTE support with the next iPhone, which would only make sense given that the third generation iPad also has 4G LTE and is the first Apple device to support it. So it seems a fair bet that LTE capabilities will be available this fall.
But in White’s estimation, it’ll be the new design that puts the iPhone 5 in customer hands.
“In our view, this will be the most significant iPhone upgrade with a four-inch screen and a new, sleek look that we believe will require a Unibody case,” White wrote. “This new, sleek look will be the most important reason that consumers decide to upgrade.”
White also thinks we’ll be seeing Apple’s stock price continue to soar in the next year, eventually pushing up over $1,001 per share. The iPhone 5 launch is what will drive that stock climb, White says, but he also said that Apple is continuing to work on a smaller 7.85-inch version of the iPad we’ve heard rumored, dubbed the iPad Mini.
As for that device, however, the launch window remains unclear, according to White.
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