According to Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu, Apple's next-gen iPhone is expected to launch in October, a full year after it's last phone, the iPhone 4S was released. Wu made this announcement to a group of investors yesterday, claiming sources in Apple suppliers in Taiwan, and added that the phone would include support for China Mobile's 3G network.
Apple has been in talks with China Mobile about carrying the next version of Apple's iPhone. Reuters reported that in a recent shareholder's meeting, Chairman of China Mobile Xi Guohua said, "We've been actively talking to Apple on how we can cooperate...I can't give you too many details, but I'd like to repeat that both sides do hope to boost our cooperation."
As the biggest telecom carrier by subscribers, China Mobile's decision to carry the iPhone would greatly impact its success against Apple competitors. It's also the only Chinese operator that doesn't officially carry the iPhone.
According to Wu, the Apple's support for Chinese-language users with it's new operation system makes the iPhone a great option for Chinese customers, with iOS 6's Siri able to understand and speak Cantonese and Mandarin.
"We believe these new features will likely help drive a significant upgrade and new user cycle more powerful than what we saw with the iPhone 4 and 4S," Wu noted. In true Apple form, they've yet to confirm or deny Wu's statement, or officially announce the release date.