iPhone Math, Indeed

Brightwire, translating a report from the China Times:

Apple will announce three new iPhone models in 2013, and two of them, the 4-inch iPhone 5S and 4.8-inch iPhone Math (both featuring 8-mega-pixel cameras), will hit markets before the end of June, China Times reported citing Taiwan-based Commercial Times.

Red flags:

  • This is an English translation of a Chinese newspaper report whose source was a Taiwanese newspaper report.

  • Apple’s supply chain partners do not know product names. Every iPhone just says “iPhone” on the back. (Same for iPads; I knew a lot about the iPad Mini before it was announced, but I didn’t know its name.) Many are raising an eyebrow at the “iPhone Math” moniker because it sounds like a terrible, nonsensical name — I say take a step back and question any purported source from the supply chain who claims to even know an upcoming iPhone’s name. Even Apple engineers in Cupertino don’t find out product names until they launch. (That said, “iPhone 5S” is a pretty reasonable guess for an upcoming phone with the same physical dimensions as the iPhone 5.)

  • I disregard any report of an upcoming iPhone with a bigger display that doesn’t include precise pixel dimensions. Anyone in the supply chain who knows the size of the display should also know the pixels. It would be nice, too, to hear an explanation of Apple’s software plans for the display size. When rumors of the iPad Mini became credible, they were accompanied by pixel dimensions (1024 × 768) and an explanation for how software would accommodate the size.

Citing Apple’s suppliers, the report added that the third model, which has not been exposed, will be launched before Christmas. The model will feature a 12-mega-pixel camera.

Three new iPhones in calendar 2013. Does that make sense to anyone? Why bother with the June 5S in this scenario?

Update: “iPhone Plus / iPhone+”, mangled in translation, is a good guess for the root of this “iPhone Math” name. But, again, it makes no sense that a supplier would have heard the name of such a device.

★ Monday, 21 January 2013