According to BI, Apple will release an iPhone 5S in June, a break from the pattern it’s established over the last two years, says Jefferies analyst Peter Misek in a note this morning.
Misek is predicting the iPhone 5S has a new “super HD camera/screen, a better battery, and NFC,” and “possible updates include an IGZO screen for Retina+, 128GB storage.” He’s also predicting it comes in 6-8 colors, presumably similar to the iPod Touch which comes in a bunch of colors.
The iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 were released in the September/October time frame. The iPhone 3G and iPhone 4 came out in the June/July time frame.
Why flip back to the mid-year launch? Misek doesn’t give an answer, but Horace Dediu at Asymco has an interesting theory on why Apple would speed up its release cycle.