'iPhone 4S' and iPad 3 Coming in Late October?

Mac Otakara reports that it has received information indicating that Apple will be introducing the iPad 3 and "iPhone 4S" sometime early next month, with availability set for "late October". The source offered no information, however, on plans for the iPhone 5, although rumors have suggested that Apple will introduce both a revamped iPhone 5 and tweaked iPhone 4 next month.

According to sources, iPhone 4S which is based on iPhone 4(CDMA) and new iPad will be started produce since 1st week in September and will be shipped in late October.

The "iPhone 4S" name is an unofficial one that has been used in a variety of reports to refer to a new iPhone based largely on and appearing nearly identical to the current iPhone 4, but offering upgraded internal components. What has come to be known as the iPhone 5 is a more thorough redesign which has surfaced in case designs reportedly based on leaked design specs.

iphone 4 ipad 2
There had been some confusion about whether Apple would be releasing an "iPhone 4S" or "iPhone 5" this year, with some suggesting that the confusion stemmed from Apple testing iPhone 5 components within iPhone 4 enclosures for secrecy. But others have claimed that Apple will indeed be introducing both the iPhone 5 and a tweaked iPhone 4 as rumors of a low-cost iPhone have continued to swirl.

Apple has of course traditionally kept its older models around as entry-level options, as evidenced Apple's continued sale of an 8 GB iPhone 3GS model, but the volume of rumors suggest that Apple may be doing a bit more tweaking to its low-end offerings this time around. Such low-cost models are said to be key for penetrating the prepaid markets prevalent in a number of large countries around the world.

Mac Otakara has offered some accurate information in the past, and notably was the first source to pinpoint some of the features of the iPad 2 as case designs began leaking out. A number of potential dates for a media event introducing the iPhone 5 and perhaps the iPad 3 have been suggested, with early reports of a September timeframe being countered early last week with a report from All Things Digital claiming that the device won't be available until October. The latest rumor has, however, claimed a September 7th media event, although an iPhone 5 introduction at that time to be followed with a launch as far off as late October would be outside Apple's usual gap between introduction and availability.

Related Roundup: iPad
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Caution)
Related Forums: iPad, iPhone

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

Time Less Avatar
174 months ago
i refuse to believe there will be an iPad 3 this year.

*owns an iPad 2*
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
saving107 Avatar
174 months ago
I find it hard to believe that Apple will have had the iPhone 4 on the market for 15-16 months and is only planning a minor release to iPhone 4S, but 6 months later is ready to release a new iPad that warrants a number upgrade to iPad 3.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrmjenkins Avatar
174 months ago
I'd like to murder the analyst or source who decided to use '4S'. We've gone to sequential numbering now. Even if they slapped a hello kitty sticker on the iphone 4 and called it the iphone 5, it's the freaking iphone 5.

If the iPad 3 is coming. Where is the big order for Retina displays? If not, what did they actually upgrade???
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Simgar988 Avatar
174 months ago
These rumors are so off base, idk if I can even consider them rumors. Just junk...

Why would apple release an iPad 3 w/ stellar IPad 2 sales? They wouldn't.

Why would they wait a year and a half to release a souped up iPhone 4. They wouldn't.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reach9 Avatar
174 months ago
Rumor buster:

1) iPhone 4S, if there will be one, will be the lower model. I think it's pretty obvious that there will be an iPhone 5, no doubt about it.

2) iPad 3? No, but an iPad 2 HD makes more sense. Will it happen? I doubt it.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Patriot24 Avatar
174 months ago
With names, I figured the next one would be 4S or whatever letter, 4GS when they put 4G into it, then finally iphone 5 whenever they change the case again.
So...

iPhone 4s with iOS 5
iPhone 4GS with iOS 6
iPhone 5 with iOS 7

I highly doubt it. It will look more like this:

iPhone 5 with iOS 5
iPhone 6 with iOS 6
iPhone 7 with iOS 7

The simplicity is key when marketing. It also makes sense to advance your version numbers as quickly as possible to maintain the perceived lead over the competition. When a customer walks into a store and sees iPhone 5, Droid X 2, and Nexus S2, what sounds like the most advanced model?

There is a reason Microsoft named their latest Xbox "360" rather than "2". You don't want to have "Xbox 2" sitting on a shelf next to "PlayStation 3".
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)