The iPhablet, iPad Mini Going Retina And iPhone 6 Bullplop: This Week In Apple ... - Huffington Post

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to This Week In Apple Rumors, our regular look back at all of the week's unconfirmed gossip, questionably sourced reports and blatant speculation about future Apple products from around the Web! Let's take a look back at what the various Apple blogs and websites were excited about in the past week, from Feb. 3 - 9. Check out our previous edition of Apple rumors here, and for all the latest you can follow me on Twitter right here. Loading Slideshow "iPhablet" Will Be Released By End Of 2013, According To One Analyst No doubt you've heard of the Big Apple; but will this year's new iPhone be the debut of the BIG APPLE? Welcome back to This Week In Apple Rumors, where the bad puns are flowing like cheap beer from the Beirut table and where we're keeping our eye on continued chatter that Apple is working on a huge iPhone, with a screen size somewhere in the 4.8-inches to 5.0-inch range (I know!). It may have seemed unimaginable two years ago, but it seems the taste for big iPhones -- "phablets," as they are disgustingly known -- is growing, and some have called for Apple to take out the magnifying ray and make one of its own. Tech site BGR points out that this week both Shaw Wu of Sterne Agee and Ben Reitzes of Barclay think that Apple is "leaving money on the table" if it does not produce an iPhablet (::shudder::). Barron's, meanwhile, found an investor's note from Reitzes claiming that Apple would indeed release an iPhone with a 5-inch screen, either in time for Christmas 2013 or at the beginning of 2014. Reitzes also predicts an iPhone 5S, with similar dimensions to the iPhone 5, will come out toward the middle of this year. Could it really be? Could Apple really bend to the will of the trend and go phablet? A Few Reasons Why Apple Might Not Produce An iPhablet Alas, for all those yearning for a Galaxy Note-sized iPhone, we have to treat this "iPhablet" talk as mere analyst chatter for now. Most predictions, and indications from the supply chain, suggest that Apple will indeed release two new iPhones in 2013: The first an iPhone 5S, which will upgrade the iPhone 5 internally but is unlikely to change its size; and a cheaper iPhone, or iPhone nano, for sale in emerging markets. That phone is also seen to have the 4.0-inch screen of the iPhone 5, currently the largest display on Apple smartphone. There have been increased whispers of an iPhablet, running under the codename iPhone Math; but we're yet to hear those whispers coming from a really credible source or news outlet with a history of leaking upcoming products. Of course, several well-regarded sites and newspapers predicted that Apple's iPhone 5 would have a huge touchscreen -- generally around 4.8-inches -- back in 2011, before the iPhone 4S was released; these renewed predictions of a much bigger iPhone could mean that Apple is again testing out such a device. Testing out, of course, is different than preparing to release as an actual product. So until you hear differently, retire the word "iPhablet" from your vocabulary. We're not buying the rumors, and neither should you. As Jordan Kahn writes in the excellent, well-regarded Apple blog 9to5Mac, "We haven't seen a credible source yet for a 5-inch iPhone." Neither have we. And neither have you. iPhablet, away! (iPhone 5 mockup via ThisIsMyNext/The Verge) iPad Mini 2 With Retina Display Predicted For 2013 Release Well, duh. A sequel to the iPad mini, this one with an improved, Retina-quality display, is probably the most surefire Apple release of the year. It's going to happen, just like Kansas is going to make the NCAA tournament and like you're going to spend a lot of time in the water closet after a big meal at Taco Cabana. BrightWire found a reference on the Chinese website MyDrivers indicating that the next iPad mini will pack a Retina display, per "industry sources." MyDrivers isn't the most reliable website in the world, nor should you set your calendar by it; but, again, there's little chance that the next iPad mini -- which we're anticipating some time in the second half of 2013 -- doesn't upgrade to a nicer screen. The first iPad mini, notably did not have a Retina-quality display ("Retina," remember, is Apple marketing-ese for a display on which you the human eye cannot distinguish individual pixels). It was a bit of a black (human) eye for Apple, as both Amazon and Barnes & Noble outed mini tablets that DID hav Retina-quality displays, while Apple -- who has notably pushed the envelope with its displays as of late -- did not. We're all expecting Apple to rectify that screen issue in 2013. It's clear as day. That's all for This Week In Apple Rumors. Join us again next week for another edition of thinly-sourced, dubious speculation about future Apple products; or, if you can't wait a week, remember you can always get the latest Apple dirt by following me on Twitter right here. Earlier on HuffPost: "; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); }); via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGBEK4NNqzga2xgisgZvZC_ybc4Jg&url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/10/iphablet-ipad-mini-retina-apple-rumors_n_2647684.html

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