Apple Could Be Releasing iPhone 4S and iPhone 5; Rumored September Release

Will the next iPhone be dubbed the iPhone 5 or the iPhone 4S? Depending on the tech blogs you read, it could be either. But a report from Fortune suggests that both devices will be making their way to market.

According to Deutsche Bank’s Chris Whitmore, Apple smartphone fans will have their pick of a handset running the company’s much-hyped iOS 5 (the iPhone 5, of course) and a lower-cost, optimized version of the iPhone 4 (dubbed the iPhone 4S, similarly to the follow-up of the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3GS). Whitmore also mentioned an unlocked version of the iPhone 4S priced at $349 and bundled with a pre-paid plan. He noted that such a handset offering would appeal to the growing mid-range smartphone market, an area which Apple has yet to truly penetrate.

Whitmore wasn’t the only one contributing to the hype over the next iPhone(s); on Sunday, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty informed clients in a note that Apple would begin production on the next iPhone in “mid to late August and ramp aggressively” (as reported by AppleInsider). Additionally, she said that the handset will hit stores near the end of Q3, which ends in September. Does this refer to the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 5, or both? We’ll have to wait and see, but Apple’s next smartphones are getting closer and closer on the horizon.

via AppleInsider, Fortune