8 Reasons Why iPhone 5’s 'Delay' is Apple’s Gain in Disguise

Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5 is the most awaited and rumored smartphone on the planet, but it is already facing major competition from the likes of Samsung Galaxy S2 and Motorola Droid Bionic.

With every passing day, the device’s rumored specs are gaining new momentum and release dates are being speculated.

Here, however, are 8 reasons how Apple could capitalize from the iPhone 5’s delay in release.

According to a recent report, Apple has increased the iPhone order volumes by about 12 to 13 percent for the second half of 2011. The company had previously ordered over 56 million iPhones for this half of the year, and around 25.5 - 26 million of these, as expected, are possibly the iPhone 5 devices. So if Apple decides to release the most coveted iPhone 5 on Christmas, it could actually convert into a big profit for the company.

Although rumors were rife that the next generation iPhone 5 will not have NFC (Near Field Communication) capability,this delay in release could actually buy Apple some time to bring in the widely acclaimed service to its new device.

The NFC feature allows wireless exchange of data over distances of a few centimeters. This means that mobile phones can be used to pay for goods, store electronic tickets, download music and swap photos and business cards. It is actually regarded as a replacement for bank cards we currently use, and making the smartphone a method of payment for purchases.

Currently the NFC feature has made its way to one Apple’s biggest competitors in the market, Samsung Galaxy S2, and Apple will look to counter that problem by introducing NFC in its own device.

With Apple's iCloud service coming soon, the company is working on the merger of multiple Apple IDs. A previous MacRumors report said that users, who were testing Apple's forthcoming iOS 5 and iCloud found running multiple IDs to be a major problem. With the delay in the iPhone 5 release, Apple could utilize the time for the eighth beta testing of the iOS 5.

iCloud was previously branded as iTools in 2000, Mac in 2002 and MobileMe in 2008. The company, previously, also said that MobileMe is set to be discontinued after June 30, 2012, and anyone who had a previous MobileMe account will be automatically redirected to the new iCloud service free of charge.

Probably the biggest advantage in Apple’s favor from the iPhone 5 release delay is the time they will have to include new features in the device, which will counter the popularity threat it currently faces from Samsung’s Galaxy S2 and Motorola’s Droid Bionic.

Previously rumored technical adaptations have shown that Apple is preparing a smartphone with an edge-to-edge 3.7-inch or 4-inch display to gain momentum in the competition, strong gaming capabilities with an enhanced A5 processor, speech recognition capabilities, Imagination Technologies’ PowerVR Series6 mobile graphics processing architecture, Qualcomm Chips to support GSM/CDMA technologies for AT&T/Verizon/Sprint, an 8 megapixel camera with improved flash unit and 1080p full HD videos.

Other rumors have suggested that Apple may even come up with an additional cheaper model for users who are not so tech savvy. The lower priced iPhone, however, may not be on par with the upcoming iPhone 5.

Apple has had several issues with the antenna-gate with the release of iPhone 4. Now Apple will have time to look into that matter so that it doesn’t affect the iPhone 5. Few consumers, shortly after the launch of iPhone 4, complained that the device’s signal strength got reduced whenever the lower left edge of the phone came in contact with the user. This resulted in dropped calls in areas with poor signal reception.

The consumers, rightfully dissatisfied, even planned to sue Apple and AT&T for fraud by concealment, negligence, intentional misrepresentation and defective design. This is one mistake Apple will not want to repeat again so the company could use this time to work on that problem.

The present generation iPhones are shipped with standard HSPA technology. However, according to a research note from Hudson Square analyst, Todd Rethemeir, the upcoming iPhone 5 will support HSPA+ technology that will allow the device to offer faster data speeds on GSM networks such as AT&T. The HSPA+, however, is slower than the LTE standard. Although chances are slim of a 4G LTE compatible iPhone 5 as it will contradict with Apple’s plans of delivering slim iPhone 5s, the company could still launch a completely different set of iPhones that would arrive with the 4G LTE feature.

Apple will look to dominate both the smartphone and the tablet market, and if both iPhone 5 and iPad 3 arrive at the same time, Apple could witness a huge rise in its market share.

The iPad will run on the new iOS 5 that will introduce about 200 new features. Previously, during the OS’ uncovering, the new features included tabbed browsing in Safari, swipe-left or swipe-right with 4-5 fingers to switch between running apps, AirPlay Mirroring for iPad 2 that lets you duplicate the iPad screen on television wirelessly, swiping with 4-5 fingers for multitasking bar, and many more.

The iPad 3, itself, is rumored to sport an A6 Quad-Core processor, new Retina display, 7-inch version of the iPad alongside the current 9.7-inch model, 4G compatibility, camera with flash, SD card slot and Thunderbolt port.

Last, but definitely not the least, Apple’s choice of a hype-building process. The iPhone 5 is the most rumored device on the Internet at the moment with different sources stating different specifications and features that will be available with the device. Speculations are also there that Apple deliberately lost the iPhone 5 prototype in a bar, like the last time, to add more fuel to the fire.

The most recent hype surrounding the iPhone 5 suggests that Apple is planning to release two new iPhone models, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5.

Sprint, recently, has “confirmed” that it would be selling the upcoming iPhone 5 which is expected to be released in October. Sprint also raised the device’s termination fee to $350. This is seen as a move that the company has taken to indicate that it will soon begin selling the iPhone.