iPhone 5 'goes into production'
Industry sources say Apple has ordered 15 million units, the first of which will be shipped in September
Ben Camm-Jones (Macworld U.K.) 06 July, 2011 03:17
The iPhone 5 will begin shipping in September and is already in production, according to Taiwanese industry sources.
Computerworld Australia: iPhone 5 launch expected on October 7
Digitimes reports that Taiwanese notebook manufacturer Pegatron Technology has received orders for 15 million units from Apple. The company has declined to comment on the report.
Pegatron produced somewhere in the region of four million iPhone 4s for Apple in the first quarter of 2011, though due to a slump in iPhone 4 sales this figure was well down on the 10 million it had prepared to manufacture.
The shipping date won't come as a surprise to industry-watchers: Apple traditionally holds a music-themed event in September and rumours that the next-generation iPhone would be announced then strengthened after no new iPhone was revealed during June's Worldwide Developer Conference.
However, the reports do seem to contradict earlier information from Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty that suggested iPhone 5 production would not begin until mid- to late August.
Digitimes reports that the iPhone 5 "does not seem to have any major update from iPhone 4" and refers to it as the iPhone 4S at one stage in the article.
Meanwhile, the same outlet reports that production of touch sensors for the iPad 2 has reached five million a month.
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