• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, August 1, 2011

The launch of the next version of the iPhone is an event that typically inspires fevered speculation about what new design, features and pricing the signature Apple device will offer. Much of the rumor-mongering this time around, however, seems to be about the timing.

The latest hearsay, courtesy of All Things D, is that Apple will push back the iPhone 5 unveiling from September to October. Keep in mind, Apple in recent years has rolled out the new iPhone in June or July. A recent report from Gizmodo suggested the launch might come at the end of September because AT&T had blocked employees from taking vacation during the last two weeks of the month. Which only happens before an iPhone release, according to a source cited.

But if the October time frame turns out to be accurate, it will raise the stakes that much higher for Apple as anticipation mounts about what updates the next-gen iPhone has in store. Compared to prior upgrades, rumored new features don't sound all that sexy: a faster A5 processor (the kind used in the iPad) and a higher resolution eight-megapixel rear camera, among others.

The wrap-around antenna introduced on the iPhone 4 may have caused problems for some users, but it certainly was a novel design along with the all-glass case. Whether any of the changes to the iPhone will spark as much interest, or controversy, isn't clear-who knows what surprises Steve Jobs may have up his sleeve when he (presumably) takes the stage to introduced the iPhone 5?

While Apple continues to surge on strong iPhone sales regardless of changes (20.3 million shipped last quarter) one company not likely to welcome a further delay is Verizon Wireless. The carrier sold 2.3 million iPhones in the second quarter, but that was just slightly more than the 2.2 million during the first seven weeks after it began selling the device in Q1. AT&T, by comparison, activated 3.2 million in the quarter.

If prospective Verizon customers have been holding off buying an iPhone until the new model comes out, the company will have to wait longer for any expected bump in sales. And if the launch is pushed back to October, that means any boost won't show up until the fourth quarter. A September launch might've helped third quarter earnings.

"We don't know when the next one's going to come out. You'll have to ask Apple that, but we expect that probably sometime in the fall. And I think you'll see a significant jump there when we get to that point," said newly appointed Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, about the iPhone 5, during the company's July 22 earnings conference call.

Besides Verizon, competing device manufacturers aren't likely to be happy with Apple pushing more directly into the holiday sales season. Until now, they've had the key year-end selling season to themselves, with Apple usually introducing new or updated products in the spring and summer. But an iPhone that might not drop until late October would pose a new challenge-grabbing mindshare if not outright sales away from rival phone makers. They can only hope the midsummer speculation about an October iPhone debut evaporates before fall.