Apple confirmed Tuesday that it will host a news conference Oct. 4 to discuss its iPhone product line. Apple is expected to unveil its newest flagship model, together with some previously unannounced capabilities featured in iOS 5.
“With every new version of iOS Apple has previewed most of the new features, but has reserved some hardware-specific features for the hardware announcement,” said Piper Jaffray analysts Gene Munster and Andrew Murphy.
“We expect [this to be the case] again this year — perhaps with more in-depth voice-recognition features,” Munster and Murphy added in an investor note released Tuesday.
Let’s Talk iPhone
The invitation card released by Apple on Tuesday features four icons showing the date, time, location and phone-oriented subject of the event, followed by the key phrase “Let’s talk iPhone” at the bottom. With respect to prior Apple invitations, the card’s key phrase has typically served as a hint about the nature of Apple’s coming presentation.
“We believe one of the unannounced features of iOS 5 may be voice-recognition technology leveraging Apple’s April 2010 acquisition of Siri, a voice-recognition app and service,” Munster and Murphy said.
Piper Jaffray expects that Apple’s redesigned iPhone 5 will feature a larger screen and thinner form-factor. Though Apple’s new flagship model is expected to be sold at carrier-subsidized prices in the $ 199 to $ 299 range, a refreshed iPhone 4 may also be introduced at a price as low as $ 99, the firm’s analysts said.
For 2011 overall, Piper Jaffray expects Apple’s iPhone shipments to rise 81 percent in comparison with shipments last year. Shipments of iPhones in the second half of 2011 are expected to rise 55 percent from the same period in 2010.
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