Analyst: Apple iPhone 5S to start production this month, launch this fall

According to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek, the Apple iPhone 5S will start undergoing production later this month. This dovetails with a report that we passed along to you the other day about Foxconn going on a hiring spree. While this information is sure to warm the heart of any iOS fan, we still have some time before the phone is actually launched.

Misek sees Apple releasing the Apple iPhone 5S in the fall and expects 25 million to 30 million units to be shipped in the third quarter. That, says the analyst, will be followed by shipments of 50 million to 55 million Apple iPhones for the holiday quarter. The Apple iPhone 5S should bring a faster processor, an improved camera with a longer lasting battery and according to one of sources, it will support NFC.

The analyst also stated that production has started on the Apple iPhone Lite, the low-cost version of the phone for emerging markets. Despite the apparent destination of the phone, Misek pegs the price of the handset at $300 to $400 and says it is more like a mid-range model at that price. If the Apple iPhone Lite is priced in that range, "it will not be competitive in emerging markets," he says.

We wouldn't necessarily take Misek's comments to heart and certainly wouldn't take them to the bank. It seems forecasting production of the next iPhone is a quarterly ritual for the analyst who also said back in March that he expected production of the phone to start that very month with a June or July launch. The good news for the analyst is that eventually, he might be right.

source: BusinessInsider via SlashGear