Apple: Analyst Says No LTE in iPhone 5; To Add Sprint, T-Mobile

Apple‘s iPhone 5 launch in September isn’t likely to include LTE functionality, Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek asserts in a research note.

“According to our industry checks, the device should be called iPhone 4S and include minor cosmetic changes, better cameras, A5 dual-core processor, and HSPA+ support,” he writes in a research note.

But he also says that “industry checks indicate Apple will likely announce Sprint, T-Mobile, and China Mobile as new carriers.”

As for LTE, he says the Qualcomm LTE chipset Apple would have used “is currently not achieving yields sufficient for inclusion in the iPhone 5.” He says Apple had hoped to have the LTE chipsets ready, but was planning a version without LTE called iPhone 4S.

On the new carriers, he says Apple will announce distribution deals with Sprint and T-Mobile in time for the holidays. He also contends that China Mobile could be added in the next 12 months.

Meanwhile, he says that demand trends indicate “significant ramps” for the iPad, but that demand for the iPhone is “flat” as “strength from the white iPhone 4 release and launches on new carriers
such as SK Telekom are offset by slowing at AT&T and Vodafone.”

Apple is down $3.77, or 1.1%, to $342.80.
Source: Forbes