Weekly Review: iPhone 5 Unveiled, No Surprises but Strong Sales Expected

Last week’s biggest event was undoubtedly the introduction of the next-generation iPhone. As expected, Apple unveiled the iPhone 5 on September 12. Nothing unexpected in the name of the new device, nor in its specifications and physical appearance; nearly everything about the phone was accurately predicted, from the display size and smaller connector to the pre-order and release schedule. With no surprises in the mix, it seems as though Apple may have lost some of its magic along with the departure of Steve Jobs.

Although Apple did not reveal anything shocking, the iPhone 5 is still a significant improvement over its predecessor; its A6 processor will reportedly use Cortex A15 architecture and have LTE support. Consumers are excited, and in a rare occurrence, Apple stock rose after the new product unveiling. Strong sales are expected, with 30 million iPhone shipments projected by the first quarter of 2013. In lighter news, numerous jokes have spread on the Internet revolving around the iPhone’s increased length.

With the announcement of the next iPhone, other cell phone makers are hard at work as well; HTC and Sony have introduced new devices in Taiwan. However, Acer’s originally planned release of a device with the cloud-based Aliyun OS was canceled, reportedly due to a threat from Google that they would terminate Acer’s Android-related authorization.

As for Apple and Samsung, while the most recent lawsuit has come to a conclusion, the war is far from over. After Samsung’s previous statement that it would sue the Cupertino company for patent infringement if the maker released an iPhone with LTE support, the ball is in Samsung’s court after the iPhone 5 unveiling. If the Korean maker goes up against Apple again, HTC may follow suit. As the two giants continue to fight over market share, it is likely Apple will begin to gradually decrease its reliance on Samsung components in the future.