New iPhone Again Predicted to Have Unibody Design

Analyst Brian J. White with Topeka Capital Markets has issued a note to investors predicting a 4-inch screen, LTE, and a unibody case for the new iPhone.

White makes his predictions based on a tour of suppliers in China and Taiwan.

"In our view, this will be the most significant iPhone upgrade with a four-inch screen and a new, sleek look that we believe will require a Unibody case," White wrote. "This new, sleek look will be the most important reason that consumers decide to upgrade."


A new design for the iPhone was widely predicted last year with manufacturers already producing cases for the new design; however, for some reason the design never materialized and Apple launched the iPhone 4S instead.

White also notes that the new iPad's sales were held back due to some manufacturing issues the device's Retina Display.

During our meetings, we walked away with the impression that production of Apple's (AAPL, $633.68, Buy) new iPad would have been higher during the March quarter if not for yield issues at panel makers driven by the new retina display that created a bottleneck in the supply chain. However, we believe the issue has largely been resolved and this should have an incrementally positive impact on the June quarter.

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