Don't Give Up on the Apple iPhone 5 Release Date Yet -- Here's Why

Don't give up on the Apple iPhone 5 release date yet -- not even close.

Most everything happened according to plan and qualified reports at Apple's Let's talk iPhone event on Tuesday. The company unveiled its hot new Assistant voice interaction smart system. The company unveiled what was widely expected in the new iPhone 4S. It has tiered lower pricing, more memory and much more.

Sure, we've talked nonstop about the iPhone 5 that's on the way, but we weren't sure if Apple would unveil one phone or two phones at the Tuesday event. So now we know. And there's one other thing we know: the iPhone 5 release date is still coming, and likely sooner than many now expect.

There's many compelling arguments for the iPhone 5 release in the near future, but the first one starts with this: Preeminence -- having paramount rank, dignity and importance that commands a premium price.

No company with any brains in the world would willing give up its preeminence. Not John Deere. Not Apple. It's just not likely that a company would do that for long without filling that cushy premium gap product it can get at the top -- like a $699 iPhone 5. That was the sentiment of most of us all along, that two new iPhones are coming, it's just a matter of timing.

Yet seemingly, that's not what Apple appeared to do at its Let's talk iPhone event on Tuesday, unveiling just the iPhone 4S and many new captivating features. Note, however, the product is not called the iPhone 5. And for good reason -- the iPhone 5 is coming.

The plan for Apple all along has been to establish tiered pricing for its new models, and get a lower-priced iPhone 4S into the pipelines as a more affordable global phone. The specs widely speculated by qualified reports were there -- most each and every one.

But the Apple didn't fall off the harvest truck yesterday. The company has global preeminence, with the world's most popular smartphone brand. It can command a premium, and will, while also attracting more mass business with the iPhone 4S and other more effectively priced models.

Since, however, Apple can get the preeminent premium for up-market models like an iPhone 5, with all the new features plus a bigger screen and a new body form -- it will. Of course. And sooner than many now think, because once a company with preeminence abandons a higher price tier it is more difficult to grab that back.

I doubt Apple plans on abandoning it -- the company is too smart for that.

More likely is that Apple is marching toward a multi-tiered iPhone strategy of product and pricing, and the iPhone 5 will be at the top. First, the company needed to add Sprint as a carrier. First, the company needed to unveil its new voice feature in a showcase manner. First, the company may need to iron out some design and manufacturing issues with the iPhone 5.

But by perhaps mid-November, in time for a December 1 launch along with the iPhone 4S, or in early January, perfect timing to mop up pricey sales for the new year, Apple will likely be bringing us the iPhone 5 -- with all the specs of the iPhone 4S plus the bigger screen size and new body form to get a premium in pricing the brand can command while keeping Apple firmly in place as the leader.

So don't give up on the iPhone 5 with the larger screen and new metal casing form yet. It's coming and likely sooner than most expect. Apple is too smart to simply price itself out of preeminence premiums it can command. Even with the hefty carrier cost sharing the company gets which helped push the price of the iPhone 4S lower, the company undoubtedly has every intention of claiming the higher price points in its new tiered iPhone pricing plan.

It's called the iPhone 5. And it shouldn't be too long before we see it. One month. Three months. So those who want it can relax. It's very likely coming sooner than later.