Apple to Begin Trial Production of iPhone 5S for Earlier Than Expected Launch?

iphone5DigiTimes relays a report coming from a Chinese-language Commercial Times report. In it, the Commercial Times claims that Apple will begin trial production of the iPhone 5S as early as December.

Facing low yield rates in the production of iPhone 5, Apple has accelerated the certification processes for related parts and components for the iPhone 5S, the paper revealed.

The paper then claims the iPhone 5S could enter volume production in the 1st quarter of 2013. If that were truly the case, the iPhone 5S could be be set to launch earlier than most have expected.

Apple originally launched the iPhone in the summer of 2007 and then stayed on an annual mid-year release cycle. This schedule held true until the launch of the iPhone 4S which launched in October 2011. Apple then continued this fall-release schedule with the iPhone 5 in 2012. As a result, many have expected the iPhone 5's successor to launch in the fall of 2013.

The Commercial Times has had a spotty record, however, so its hard to gauge how much faith to put into this single report. If the iPhone 5S launch will indeed be accelerated, we are certain to hear more in the coming months.

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple Expected to Launch 20+ Products This Year: Here's the Full List

Friday January 17, 2025 5:30 am PST by
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year. Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal Single Feature

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Major Thermal Design Upgrade

Friday January 17, 2025 4:33 am PST by
The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report. The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire iPhone 17 lineup, consisting of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader. Vapor chamber technology is already used...

Top Rated Comments

MRU Avatar
159 months ago
In other news iPhone 6 set for two weeks after the iPhone 5s. A random guy in China told me so.....
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
andyx3x Avatar
159 months ago
Yeah right.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arn Avatar
159 months ago
If an iPhone5S launches in January there will be a lot of pretty hacked off people.

I don't think you can read a January launch into this, even if u are interpret it at face value.

arn
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Moshe1010 Avatar
159 months ago
iPad 3 --> iPad 4 story again.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
colmaclean Avatar
159 months ago
I'm getting pretty fed up with having to go to a store every two weeks to keep my tech at the bleeding edge.

Apple needs to take it to the next level and allow us to download hardware updates through iTunes.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
komodrone Avatar
159 months ago
INB4: But i just got the 5.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)