Reuters adds detail — and its authority — to rumors of an 8GB “iCloud iPhone”
Stories have been floating around for months that Apple (AAPL) was building not one but two new iPhones — the widely expected iPhone 5 and a lower-cost phone that’s basically the current iPhone 4 with less on-board memory. According to an item posted two weeks ago by Apple’N’Apps‘ Trevor Sheridan, company insiders are calling the second device the “iCloud iPhone.”
On Tuesday, in a report flagged EXCLUSIVE, Reuters threw its weight behind Sheridan’s scoop, adding fresh details based on two unnamed sources “with knowledge of the matter.” Reuters doesn’t call it the new device the iCloud iPhone, but it sure sounds like the same thing.
The new details:
- 8 GB of Flash memory (down from 16 or 32 in the current iPhone 4)
- Flash purchased from a new Korean suppler (as opposed to Samsung or Toshiba)
- Hon Hai and Pegatron (the iPhone 5’s reputed suppliers) told to prepare capacity to build 45 million units between them
- End of September launch for both the iPhone 5 and its smaller brother
That last bullet point puts Reuters’ account at odds with the Wall Street Journal‘s All Things D, which has repeatedly assured us that the launch won’t happen before October.