A fresh rumor out of the Far East on Thursday claims Apple will launch a low-cost iPhone in September in five colors, with the hues taken directly from the company's official bumpers made for the iPhone 4.

Citing a reliable source, Japanese Apple blog MacOtakara reports Apple has decided to produce black, white, pink, orange and blue versions of an as-yet-unannounced low-cost iPhone. The color saturation is said to be very close or identical to Apple's iPhone 4 Bumpers.

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Suppliers in Apple's supply chain reportedly believe that the company plans to simultaneously announce both a low-cost iPhone along with a premium "iPhone 5S" this June, setting the stage for a July launch.

The details were relayed to analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets, who attended an industry trade show in China this week. There he said he learned from suppliers and vendors working with Apple that a new, lower-priced iPhone is expected to be announced in June alongside a next-generation "iPhone 5S." Read More

A new image that could be the first physical evidence of Apple's low-cost iPhone has surfaced, showing a ribbon cable with a dual-head vibration motor, as well as other components.

The component allegedly from an unreleased iPhone model was obtained by iLab Factory and highlighted on Thursday by Macotakara. It was suggested that the dual-head vibration design could be an indication that it's a part from a low-cost iPhone rather than the company's anticipated flagship "iPhone 5S." Read More

For the first fiscal quarter of 2013 Apple sold 47.8 million iPhones, nearly 11 million more than the 37 million over the same period in 2012.

In its quarterly conference call for the first fiscal quarter of 2013, Apple announced record shipments for its smartphone business, announcing an increase in year-to-year sales of over ten million units. 

At the end of the three-month period ending in December, Apple sold 47.8 million iPhones compared to the 37 million moved over the same period last year, soaring above analysts' expectations. Overall, revenues amounted to $30.6 billion in the last quarter of 2013, over $6 billion more than 2012's $23.95 billion. Read More

Digitimes provides more details about the rumored cheaper iPhone that has been circulating. According to their supply chain sources, this new entry-level iPhone is said to adopt plastic for its chassis rather than the glass and aluminum that has been used on their current models.  Read More

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has slashed component orders for the iPhone 5 this quarter, responding to weaker-than-expected demand.

Apple's orders for iPhone 5 screens for the January-March quarter, for example, have dropped to roughly half of what the company had previously planned to order, two of the people said. Read More

According to a rumor from The China Times [Google translation], Apple is planning to adopt new touch panels with "Touch on Display" technology for the next iteration of the iPhone. The panels, which have been developed by Apple supplier Innolux, are said to be in testing at the moment. 

Apple's iPhone 5 incorporated a display that uses in-cell technology, and it has been reported that problems with the recognition of rapid diagonal swiping on the screen are due to the display. That may be one reason Apple is looking at new touch panel technology. 

The China Times concurs, pointing to the slow response speed of the iPhone 5's touch panels along with interference issues as the deciding factor behind the switch.  Read More

Apple is said to be planning to offer customers more choices with the launch of its next-generation iPhone, including multiple colors and sizes, with an earlier-than-expected debut in the May-June timeframe.

Analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets said in a note to investors Wednesday that his checks within the industry have indicated the so-called "iPhone 5S" will come in a variety of colors beyond the current black and white. He expects that the next iPhone will be available in a total of eight colors: the pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, silver and slate shades currently found on the iPod nano, and a (Product)Red model with proceeds benefiting AIDS research. Read More

Apple announced tonight that the company has sold over two million of the new iPhone 5 in China, just three days after its launch. Read More

In line with its announcement from earlier this month, Apple today launched the iPhone 5 in 33 new countries, with the most prominent member of the group being China. 

Unlike the chaos that reigned at the iPhone 4S launch earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reports that the iPhone 5 appears to have been quite subdued. It is unclear, however, how much of the change may be due to lack of interest and how much may have been related to snowy weather and changes in Apple's sales policies designed to reduce scalping and other factors that have led to problems at previous launches. Read More