Mac Otakara has released a report with new details on a number of upcoming products, including the rumored low cost iPhone, the iPhone 5S, and the iPad 5. Citing information from several different sources, the site suggests that the low cost iPhone may ship in a number of different colors and that it will begin trial production soon.
Color choices for the low cost iPhone remain murky, as the site has heard rumors from two different sources. The first source said that the low cost iPhone will come in colors that include navy, gold orange, white, and gray, while a second source named white, pink, green, blue, and yellow orange as the available colors. A common theme, however, is that the low cost iPhone will not include a black option.
Apple's rumored low cost iPhone is said to be targeted at emerging markets, carrying a price tag of approximately $350-$400 without subsidies. To facilitate a lower price tag, the phone is rumored to have a polycarbonate shell.
According to Makotakara, the low cost iPhone will begin a field test production in June, which will be followed up by wide ranging production in July to accommodate a September launch. This launch date is a bit confusing, as Mac Otakara previously said that the low cost iPhone would ship in 2014.
As for the iPhone 5S, Mac Otakara believes that it too will come in multiple colors. Previously, the site suggested that it would ship in three different colors, including the original black and white, but now says that additional colors might be offered, namely gold and green.
The design of the iPhone 5S is rumored to be largely the same as the iPhone 5, but Mac Otakara’s sources say that it will sport a dual-LED flash and that the rear microphone hole will become circular instead of pill shaped, placed between the camera and the flash. Before the launch of the iPhone 4S rumors suggested that it too might ship with a dual flash, but that did not happen.
Finally the site gives a small bit of information on the 5th generation iPad, suggesting that the extra hole that was seen in some iPad mini prototype cases and even an alleged iPad mini prototype will be added to the iPad 5. The hole did not make it into the final iPad mini design, but it has appeared in prototype iPad 5 cases as well, and Mac Otakara suggests that it is an additional microphone.
While the site does not give an expected release date for the iPhone 5S, it does note that the fifth generation iPad will ship after the new iPhone. Previous rumors have suggested that the iPhone 5S will be released in September or later.
