iPhone 5 in Production: Sources in China Confirm Via Japanese Blog
The new iPhone 5 smartphone is already in production and preparing for a release date some time in the coming months.
The news was previously broken by reliable Japanese blog site, Macotakara, which stated that reliable sources had confirmed to it that production had commenced within Apple's China factories.
Apple is ordinarily does not release any information regarding its upcoming devices and allows rumors to build up expectation for its products. The iPhone 5 is no different, and rumors have suggested that the smartphone could release sometime before the end of September.
Other rumors have pointed to an aluminium back panel with a partial glass cover being implemented.
It is almost certain that the next generation iPhone will have a larger screen than the current iPhone 4 and 4S. It has been touted that the iPhone 5 will have a 4 inch Retina display with an aspect ratio of 16:9. That would not only make for a larger screen, but a longer looking screen for Apple smartphone users.
Some have suggested that Apple has moved its release date forward for the iPhone 5 from October to September due to the massive success of rival Samsung's launch of the Galaxy S3. The release of Samsung's top range smartphone has seen millions of units sold worldwide, and has led to a big drop in iPhone 4S sales globally. Others have suggested that part of the reason for that big drop also is because many have heard that the new iPhone will be coming out in just months time and prefer waiting to get their hands on the latest generation device rather than opting for the current device now.
In other rumors it has been suggested that an iPad Mini could also be released in the coming months. Apple's dominance in the tablet market has been undermined somewhat by competitors in the lower end of the market with smaller tablets being released by Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and most recently Google. It is believed that Apple is looking to counter this trend by releasing its own 7 inch tablet to compete directly in that area of the market.