No iPhone 5 launch in June or July

4 May 2011

Apple is understood to have officially informed US carrier AT&T that it does not plan to release the fifth generation iPhone in the June-July timeframe.

According to MacRumours, an AT&T customer care representative has said Apple has officially confirmed to the carrier the iPhone 5 will not be released in that period.

AT&T was contacted by a user who noticed his phone upgrade was pushed back by five months.

“Apple has informed us that they do not plan to release the iPhone in the June to July timeframe, though there will be a newer version in the future,” AT&T told the customer, according to MacRumours.

Will Apple kill off the iPod?

The theory now is that Apple may release the new iPhone in September, the period synonymous with new iPod family introductions.

Apple sold 9.02m iPods during its recent second quarter, representing a 17pc unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

If the new iPhone is to be introduced in September, does this mean Apple is likely to signal the demise of the iPod, which has been surpassed and even turned into one of many apps on devices like the iPhone and iPad tablet computer?

Who’s to say, except selling 9m music devices is still a significant business by anyone’s standards.

That said, Microsoft killed off its Zune media player in March due to poor demand and said it intends to focus on smartphones and consoles instead. The Zune was calculated to be Microsoft’s answer to the iPod but devices lacked the same wow factor as the iPod.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com