Apple Begins Production On The iPhone 5S

Image via Flickr/ Camillo Miller

Apple has finally begun production on its iPhone 5S model, according to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek. Jefferies has further confirmed a September or October release and says the sales will not help the September quarter.

Jefferies has also noted that production for Apple’s much-discussed low-cost iPhone has also began, but placed the phone at a mid-tier $300-$400 range, as opposed to the $99 cost that was predicted by Bloomberg. He says that the phone “will not be competitive in emerging markets.”

Apple will be putting in orders of 50-55 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, consisting of 5 million iPhone 4Ss, 20 million low-cost iPhones, and 25 million iPhone 5Ss.

According to a report from China Business News, translated via BGR, “main manufacturing partner Foxconn has begun using the services of a recruitment firm to boost hiring at its Zhengzhou plant in China,” which would help pump up the production of the newest iPhone models coming to market this Fall.

A major new feature of the iPhone 5S is an alleged fingerprint sensor that would replace the need for passwords. The International Business Times identified some other notable characteristics, informing, “Apple has reportedly adopted dual-LED flash for its rear-facing camera, which means that circular flash is now pill-shaped, and many believe the iPhone 5S camera has been improved from the 8-megapixels in the iPhone 5, likely to 12-megapixels.”