Latest checks from Apple’s suppliers in Taiwan indicate that the next iPhone is in fact launching in October, as previously rumored, full twelve months following release of the iPhone 4S last October.
In a landmark deal with the China’s and world’s biggest carrier, the handset will support China Mobile’s proprietary TD-SCDMA 3G network, making it a true world phone…
AppleInsider has the story:
In his checks with suppliers, Shaw Wu of Sterne Agee has heard that support for China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA 3G network will be a “key feature” of Apple’s sixth-generation iPhone. China Mobile is the largest cellular operator in the world, with more than 650 million mobile subscribers.
Apple sells its smartphone through China Unicom and China Telecom and is expected to cut a landmark deal with China Mobile, the world’s biggest carrier.
The iPhone 4S is a quad-band device supporting GSM at 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, quad-band UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA at 850/900/1900/2100 MHz and dual-band CDMA EV-DO Rev. A at 800/1900 MHz bands.
By supporting a total of six different radio frequencies, a single iPhone 4S model can be sold for AT&T, Verizon and Sprint in the United States, in addition to a broad range of GSM carriers worldwide such as Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile.
But China is an entirely different beast.
Unlike in the United States and elsewhere, carriers in China are currently running trials of fourth-generation networks utilizing Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology.
Knowing that widespread adoption of 4G LTE in the 1.33 billion people market is still two to three years away, it becomes crucial for the next iPhone to adopt TD-CDMA 3G network if Apple is to crack that sought-after deal with China Mobile.
Acknowledging that China, now the world’s leading smartphone market, has become a major revenue driver for the company, iOS boss Scott Forstall at the WWDC keynote took the wraps off of a number of new features specifically tailored for the local market.
These include preloading China’s dominant search engine Badu as the default choice in iOS 6, Siri in Mandarin and Cantonese, a brand new Chinese dictionary, improved text input, twice the number of Chinese characters in handwriting recognition, support for popular Chinese Internet services like Sina and Youku and more.
As you know, it’s now a forgone conclusion that the next iPhone will have high-speed 4G LTE connectivity and a taller four-inch display, with iOS 6 SDK possibly providing tools to write apps that intelligently scale interfaces up and down to accommodate multiple screen resolutions.
The iPhone maker also promised two new flagship retail stores in Chengdu and Shenzhen, targeting to open about 25 stores in China by the end of calendar 2012.
And if you had any doubts, Foxconn CEO Terry Gou told shareholders on Monday that the next iPhone will put Samsung’s Galaxy S III to shame.
What’s the most important feature of the next iPhone that you’re looking forward to?
Is it 4G? Larger display, perhaps? Maybe a brand new form factor?
Meet us in comments.