Jefferies analyst Peter Misek late Monday provided his own fresh take on what likely will happen when the faithful convene at the Yerba Center for the Arts in San Francisco, a site Apple has used repeatedly in recent years for major product launches.
"We believe Apple will unveil the iPhone 5 on September 12," he writes. (Not a big prediction there.) "While there may be fewer surprises than there have been in prior years (as the number of leaks seem to be uncharacteristically high this time around), we still see numerous catalysts for the shares to perform well over the next couple months and the next year."
Here's his assessment on what Apple will - might - and won't - talk about Wednesday morning
- Virtually certain: The iPhone 5, with a 4-inch screen, and a new aspect ratio. Thinner unibody construction; abour 20% thinner than the 4S. (Topeka Capital's Brian White on Monday asserted that it will be 15% thinner. Just sayin'.) LTE global capable chipset with backward compatibility to CDMA and GSM. New battery. iOS 6 final build.
- Highly likely: iPod update, with more Shuffle colors, a new Nano, and an iPod Touch that resembles the iPhone 5.
- Possible: NFC capability. A camera update. A new tier-one carrier. An Airport Extreme update to WiFi A/C. TD-SCDMA support.
- Unlikely: An iMac refresh (he thinks that's coming next month.) An Apple TV set-top box upgrade. iPad Mini. T-Mobile added as an iPhone carrier. TD-LTE support.
- Virtually no chance: The much discussed iTV.
Misek also offered this theoretical calendar of coming Apple events:
- September 12: iPhone 5 unveiled.
- September 14: Pre-orders begin.
- September 21: iPhone 5 retailer sales start.
- September 23: Announcement of first weekend sales.
- September 28: Announcement of first week sales.
- By October 10: Invitation to iPad Mini event.
- Mid-October: iPad Mini event takes place.
- October 23: Expected release of September quarter results.
- End of October: iPad Mini Launches.
And the beat goes on.
