A Taiwan-based news source, Economic Daily News, reported Friday morning that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) plans to release the iPhone 6 in August. Windshields around the world are steaming up already.
Apple released the iPhone 5S/5C in late September last year, following on the September 2012 release of the iPhone 5 and the September 2011 release of the iPhone 4S. Prior to that most new models were announced or released in the summer.
The iPhone 6 is expected to be have a 4.7-inch screen and a second iPhone with a 5.5-inch screen is reported to be in the works as well. Sentiment appears to favor an August introduction for the smaller screen followed by a September introduction for the larger one.
Apple, of course, remains silent about its plans, but a new version of the iPhone is almost certainly in the works. The top-of-the-line model, the 5S, has already been given away free at RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) stores as a trade-in for an iPhone 4S and is available for $50 at Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) right now for $50 with a trade-in of an iPhone 4S or free with a iPhone 5 trade-in. Apple can’t afford to let its retail partners dump its top-of-the-line device. That doesn’t not help brand image at all.
Apple’s stock is trading down about 0.9% in the mid-afternoon Friday at $582.88 in a 52-week range of $388.87 to $604.41.
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