The next iPhone will have a sleek, new look featuring a larger screen and a single unibody frame, analyst Brian White with Topeka Capital Markets predicted in a note to investors on Monday.
White said he gleaned insider information about Apple's next-gen iPhone during a recent tour in China and Taiwan, where he visited various tech suppliers. He believes the next iPhone will boast a larger, 4-inch screen (current models have a 3.5-inch screen) and high-speed 4G LTE connectivity.
The hype around the iPhone 5 is growing in Asia, he added, and people have started speculating about when the new phone will be launched. Some suppliers will likely begin producing components for the next iPhone in June — but don't get too excited for an early summer launch just yet. While believes the device won't launch until sometime in August or September.
He added that the iPhone 5 will be the most significant upgrade yet, leading to an "extraordinary" December quarter, "dwarfing" past iPhone launches.
"This new, sleek look will be the most important reason that consumers decide to upgrade to the iPhone 5, while we believe the addition of 4G will also attract buyers of the new device," White wrote in the note.
Rumors of a 4-inch iPhone 5 have been making the rounds for months. Back in January, 9to5Mac claimed to have "reliable sources" at Foxconn who said several possible models of the next iPhone have been floating around, all of which included screens of at least 4 inches.
Meanwhile, White last week predicted that Apple's share price will touch $1,000 within 12 months. A $1,000 share price would push Apple's market cap (the number of shares outstanding multiplied by the stock price) to about $1 trillion. If so, Apple would become the world's first trillion-dollar company.
The latest iPhone, the iPhone 4S, came out in October. For more, see PCMag's full review and the slideshow below.
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