Although the iPhone 4 has been on the market for over a year now it is still proving to be wildly successful, easily outselling the majority of its rivals on a like for like basis. Apple announced this month that in the three months from the start of April it shipped over 20 million iPhones across the globe, proving that this is one brand that is not going to be ousted from the top of the market in the near future.
It has also emerged in recent days that the fifth iPhone is likely to arrive at the start of September. Delays due to component shortages which were caused by the Japanese earthquake back in March have forced Apple to exchange its usual June launch for a new iPhone for a later date.
Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer was quoted as saying that while revenues dropped 12 per cent year on year in the third quarter of 2011 the firm is hoping that a new product launch in September will help it to recoup any lost income.
The reason for the drop-off was of course as a direct result of the iPhone 5 having its release date rescheduled . While Oppenheimer would not explicitly say that the firm`s revenue will increase in the autumn as a result of a new iPhone arriving, it is being seen as heavily implied by many in the media.
The iPhone 5 is likely to bring a handful of new features to the table when it eventually does launch, although few can agree on what precisely this might entail. A dual core processor is almost a cert given that rivals including the Samsung Galaxy S2 and HTC Sensation already have dual core chips onboard. A larger four inch display is also being rumoured to be a key feature, bringing the Retina Display of the iPhone 4 onto a larger form factor.
There are counter-rumours which suggest that Apple might be launching an iPhone 4S this September, with only a few minor changes made over its predecessor, rather than completely reimagining the handset that has won them millions of sales.
Part of the inspiration behind this move might be problems with overheating processors which were rumoured in the last few days. Apple is not exactly in a rush to get the iPhone 5 to market given the continuing dominance of the iPhone 4. However, it is clear that the iPhone forms a key part of its revenue stream and that a real boost could be gained by launching a new handset on the same annual schedule as it has kept since the original arrived back in 2007.