Reports have surfaced that Apple will hold a big “special event” on October 4 to unravel the much-anticipated new iPhone 5 on Oct. 4. New Apple head honcho Tim Cook is expected to preside over the event for the very first time, an official public ‘coronation’ of sorts. Some have suggested that Founder/Chairman Steve Jobs will make a special appearance. Apple’s incredible team will surely be there to support Cook such as marketing head Schiller, iOS chief Scott Forstall and Eddy Cue, SVP of Internet Software and Services.
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Apple board member Al Gore today confirmed that new iPhones will be released in October, at the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit . Notice the plural – ‘iPhones’. There has been speculation that Apple could be releasing two variants of the iPhone – one the top-of-the-line, brand new iPhone 5, and an entry-level iPhone 4S (codenamed “N94‘). Whether deliberate leak or accidental slip-up, Al Gore has reaffirmed the coming of new hardware this October.
Apple is currently the biggest single manufacturer of smartphones in the world. The smartphone market is currently dominated by Google‘s Android with hardware produced and sold by various companies – Samsung, HTC, Sony Ericsson, with over 48 percent as of second quarter of 2011. Apple sold 20.3 million units of the iPhone in the second quarter of 2011, out of a total market volume of 107.7 million units – representing an approximate 19 percent global market share. Market researchers anticipate Apple’s global smartphone market share to rise to 22 percent next year, with the arrival of the iPhone 5.
Boosted by the impending iPhone 5 release, Apple’s share of the global smartphone market is expected to reach 22 percent next year. Apple is expected to sell over 86 million iPhones in 2011, according to Credit Suisse. In 2012, it anticipates Apple will sell another 135 million units – an extraordinary 57 percent increase in just one year.
iPhone sales have contributed substantial revenue and profits for Apple. In 2009, 30 percent of the company’s total revenues came from iPhone sales. In 2010, that rose to nearly 40 percent. This year, iPhone sales are expected to generate 44 percent of the company’s estimated $106-billion in total revenues.
With or without Steve Jobs at the helm, Apple shows no signs of slowing down. The well-oiled machine run by Tim Cook is set to break more records and grow even bigger than they already are. Profits and revenues aside, Apple is now the world’s second most valuable brand after Google, estimated to be worth around $39.3 billion, according to a study by consulting firm Brand Finance.
Are you holding out for the iPhone 5?
Sources: TheNextWeb, International Business Times, AllThingsD.
