MacRumors

Topeka analyst Brian White today issued a new research note summarizing his thoughts on the phone he calls the iPhone 5S, expected to be released this summer. Most notably, he seems to have reversed his prior assertion that the next iPhone will have multiple screen sizes, noting that at a trade show in China there was a consensus amongst his sources that the screen size will be unchanged from the iPhone 5.

He claims the left side volume and mute buttons will be arranged differently, in line with a parts leak from yesterday, and says the rumored fingerprint technology will be the differentiating feature for the 5S, like what Siri was to the 4S.

White also shares some additional thoughts about the rumored cheaper iPhone he expects this summer:

Strangely enough, the lower-priced iPhone is still being called the "iPhone mini"; however, the general consensus (albeit a few disagreed and expect a slightly smaller screen) was that this new device would actually have the same screen size (i.e., 4-inches) as the iPhone 5. However, the "iPhone mini" will have a curved back casing made of colored plastic and will be thicker than the iPhone 5. We also learned the pricing could be a bit higher than our recently raised expectation, reaching as high as $400.

The picture around this summer's iPhone releases should continue to come into focus as we see more hardware leaks and get closer to the expected launch.

In line with its launch previously announced launch plans, T-Mobile USA today officially launched the iPhone, offering the iPhone 5 nationwide and the iPhone 4S and 4 in markets where the devices are supported on its network. The T-Mobile iPhone is also available through Apple's online store at full price with interest-free financing offered through Barclaycard.

TechCrunch notes that some T-Mobile retail stores are seeing small lines this morning as customers seek to purchase the device using under T-Mobile's new "Uncarrier" service plans which begin at $50/month with no contract. The business model separates the device and service costs, putting the full unsubsidized device cost onto a separate 24-month payment plan.

As noted by TmoNews, T-Mobile has also rolled out a new television ad for the iPhone, touting the pairing of the popular device with T-Mobile's network and service plans.

It's the phone that's revolutionizing phones. Make sure it's running on the carrier that's revolutionizing wireless. Introducing iPhone 5 on T-Mobile. With our advanced nationwide 4G network, and no more restrictive annual contracts required, only T-Mobile lets your iPhone 5 be as great as an iPhone 5.

French site MacGeneration reports [Google translation] that former Adobe executive Kevin Lynch, who joined Apple as a vice president of Technologies last month, is now heading up a team of engineers with experience designing iPod products.

While MacGeneration does not know for certain what project the group is working on, the site speculates that Lynch's team may be applying its iPod expertise to Apple's rumored smart watch effort.

Among the names mentioned, we note those of Robert Curtis and Steven Bollinger. The former worked for four years on the iPod firmware, the latter is cited in numerous patents related to Apple's music player and touch screens. Lynch's other recruits have worked on various components of the iPod, from its interface to parts of its system through certain material respects.

Apple's "iWatch" effort is reportedly well underway, with Bloomberg revealing earlier this year that Apple has a team of 100 product designers working on the project. It is, however, unclear exactly how Lynch and his group fit into that team if he is indeed working on the iWatch.

(Thanks for the translation, Arthur!)

Improvements to the iPad's LED backlighting will allow Apple to create a thinner iPad 5, NPD DisplaySearch's Paul Semenza told CNET.

"It's likely that part of the thinner/lighter design will be reducing the size of the LED backlight, partly by making the display more efficient and partly by using more efficient LEDs," said Paul Semenza, an analyst at NPD DisplaySearch, in an e-mail to CNET.

The Retina displays of the third and fourth generation iPads required a dual-LED backlight along with a bigger battery, which caused them to be thicker than the previous iPad 2.

Semenza also pointed out that a shift to a film-based touch sensor might also serve to reduce bulk. The current iPad mini incorporates a DITO film touch panel sensor which contributes to its 7.2mm thickness. He was unsure whether Apple might consider a switch to different display technology, but some reports have suggested that Apple is investigating IGZO panels.

DisplaySearch has extensive sources in the display supply chain, but a mixed track record when it comes to predictions. Before the launch of the fourth generation iPad DisplaySearch claimed that the tablet would launch with a thinner design, a prediction that ended up being incorrect after the iPad was released with the same form factor as the third generation iPad. The research firm did, however, accurately predict the in-cell display technology used in the iPhone 5.

Rumors of a thinner iPad 5 originated last year and were followed up with photos of an alleged rear shell of the device in January and case leaks in February. Photos of the front bezel of the iPad 5 surfaced yesterday, featuring a narrower iPad mini-style design.

Wired is reporting that Apple has agreed to pay $53 million to settle a class action lawsuit, which originated in 2010, that accuses them of failing to honor warranties on certain models of iPhones or iPod Touches.

The settlement, which should be filed in San Francisco federal court in the next couple of weeks, provides cash payouts to possibly hundreds of thousands of iPhone and iPod Touch customers that say Apple did not honor either their one-year standard or two-year extended warranty.

According to several lawsuits combined in San Francisco, no matter what the problem, Apple refused to honor warranties if a white indicator tape embedded in the phone near the headphone or charging portals had turned pink or red. However, the tape’s maker, 3M, said humidity, and not water contact, could have caused the color to at least turn pink.

In November 2010 Apple adjusted their damage assessment procedures so that repair staff had to inspect devices even if a device's indicator tape was "triggered" and changed color. Prior to that change, Apple would rely on the indicator tape when determining a liquid damage event, which would not be covered by Apple's warranty.

The lawsuit's affected devices include the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and the first, second and third generation iPod Touch. Wired notes that potential payouts could be around $200 or less, depending on how many claims are submitted.

Apple chief litigation counsel Noreen Krall signed the settlement yesterday. Wired notes that Apple admits no wrongdoing, and the settlement will have to be approved by the judge.

The Verge is reporting that Apple is set to strike a licensing deal with Universal Music Group, the largest music label, by next week for its rumored Internet radio service. A deal with Warner Music would follow soon after that, according to The Verge.

Last week, it was reported that Apple was close to wrapping a deal up with Universal Music Group and Warner Music, but no immediate time table was given and it was unclear if any side made concessions on royalty rates.

In early March the New York Post said that one of the sticking points in the negotiations with the labels was that Apple was offering to pay half the royalty rate of Pandora, which was $0.06 per 100 songs streamed. The Verge says that Apple did not succeed in trying to undercut Pandora's rates.

Now, Apple will pay rates nearly "neck and neck" with Pandora, one of the sources said. Because of iTunes huge number of users, the new service is expected to be an immediate threat to Pandora.

The Pandora-like service is supposed to launch later this year and is set up to help iTunes users discover new music, generate ad sales and boost sales of downloads, according to The Verge.

However, Apple still has to strike a deal with Sony Music Entertainment and music publishers, and talks with those companies are said to not be as far along as Universal Music Group and Warner Music. If Apple is able to agree to a deal with Sony in the next couple months, it could possibly debut iRadio at Worldwide Developers Conference this June.

France will ask the European Commission for increased regulation following Apple's decision to remove AppGratis from the App Store for violating its developer guidelines, Reuters reports.

During a visit to AppGratis publisher iMediapp, French junior minister for digital economy Fleur Pellerin called Apple's decision "extremely brutal and unilateral....

"This behaviour is not worthy of a company of this size," Pellerin said.

She added that certain Internet companies were guilty of "repeated abusive behaviour" and said she would ask the European Commission and EU member states to better regulate digital platforms, search engines and social media.

Apple has come under European Commission scrutiny in the past for its requirements around the pricing of ebooks, a subject that the United States is currently prosecuting Apple for as well.

Back in January, reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo laid out a thorough roadmap of his expectations for Apple's product launches in 2013, pointing to a very busy third quarter for the company with launches for updated iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Mac notebook lines. As recently as last month, Kuo was targeting a June/July launch for the new iPhone models, with a version specific to China Mobile arriving a bit later in September.

Kuo has released a new report today indicating that a number of challenges appear to be pushing back the release of the new iPhone and iPad mini models relative to his previous predictions and general market consensus. As a result, Kuo believes that Apple's third quarter may see much smaller shipment growth than previously expected. Apple of course has not announced its launch plans, so any "delays" are relative to these market expectations and not necessarily Apple's internal plans.

Earlier we estimated that shipments of the new iPhone would begin in July (FDD version) and September (TDD version), while iPad mini 2 would hit the market in August. Currently, market consensus for shipments of iPhone 5S, low-cost iPhone and iPad mini 2 is July, July, and August, respectively. But in light of publicly available information and our knowledge of technological trends, we now think all three products will begin shipments later than our previous expectation and market consensus.

Kuo does not provide a new specific target date for the launches of the updated models, instead laying out a series of three scenarios modeling how Apple's shipments could be affected based on August/September, September/October, and October/November timeframes.

As for details on the challenges facing Apple, Kuo lays out the following issues:

- Fingerprint sensor for iPhone 5S. Work on finding the right color coatings in order to prevent interference with the sensor offers a technical challenge for Apple, and software integration in iOS 7 will also require additional work.

- Color coatings for lower-cost iPhone. Apple's lower-cost iPhone has been rumored to be arriving with a plastic shell in a number of different colors, and Apple's efforts to keep the shell as thin as possible will likely lead to production ramping issues for coatings and surface treatments.

- iPad mini Retina display. Kuo expects the second-generation iPad mini to adopt a Retina display, and technical challenges related to its design and manufacture are likely to slow Apple's release timetable.

As a result of later-than-expected launches, Kuo currently predicts that Apple will see only single-digit growth of total iPhone/iPad shipments year-over-year for the third quarter of 2013, far below current market expectations of 30-40% growth.

Kuo's report comes as Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty has released her own report projecting new iPhone launches for September following an iOS 7 preview at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) expected in June. Huberty projects that Apple will show off a new "killer app" such as mobile wallet at WWDC, with the new iPhone and iPad hardware following several months later.

Bloomberg reports on comments from a U.S. District Court judge in Miami chastising Apple and Google for engaging in patent lawsuits as part of a broader business strategy rather than focusing on resolution of the disputes. The judge is currently overseeing a legal dispute that began with an initial complaint by Motorola Mobility in late 2010 and was expanded in January 2012 with the approval of Google, which had agreed to acquire Motorola several months earlier.

“The parties have no interest in efficiently and expeditiously resolving this dispute; they instead are using this and similar litigation worldwide as a business strategy that appears to have no end,” U.S. District Judge Robert Scola in Miami said in an order dated yesterday. “That is not a proper use of this court.”

Scola went on to blast the companies' "obstreperous and cantankerous conduct" in refusing to streamline the 12 patents and over 180 claims currently involved in the lawsuit.

“Without a hint of irony, the parties now ask the court to mop up a mess they made by holding a hearing to reduce the size and complexity of the case,” he wrote. “The court declines this invitation.”

Scola has given Apple and Google four months in which to streamline the case on their own before he puts the case on hold.

Several weeks ago, photos of a pair of parts alleged to be from the iPhone 5S surfaced through a Japanese parts vendor. The parts included a flex cable for the device's home button and a second flex cable housing the vibrator and volume/mute controls.

Another Japanese parts vendor, iLab Factory, has now posted a new set of photos showing not only those two parts but also a third flex cable that appears to house the device's front camera. iLab Factory points out that these parts may be from the iPhone 5S but could alternatively be from Apple's rumored lower-cost iPhone.

One interesting item of note that we neglected to point out in our previous report relates to the vibrator/volume control flex cable. The part contains a strip of three buttons to run along the edge of the device, corresponding to the locations of the two volume buttons and the mute switch on previous iPhone models. But on this part, all three features appear to be buttons, suggesting that this upcoming iPhone may see the mute switch become a push button.

iLab Factory also notes that the vibrator in this part uses a dual-head design, which is distinct from the iPhone 5 vibrator design, although it is unclear what may have prompted the change.

The other two parts shared by iLab Factory reveal little information, with the home button flex cable appearing essentially identical to the previously seen part except for a part number change from 821-1684-01 to 821-1684-02. These parts do, however, contain a significantly longer cable than seen on the corresponding iPhone 5 part.

The layout of the front camera flex cable is nearly identical to the corresponding iPhone 5 part, although this leaked part is missing the microphone and other sensors seen on the iPhone 5 part offered by iFixit.