What Wasn’t Announced at Apple’s iPhone Reveal?

It finally can start. The waiting in line around the block. The rampant
analysis on fourth-quarter sales numbers. The predictions on when Apple (NASDAQ:
AAPL ) shares will break $500. All of that and some doom-saying on when
competitors like Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM ) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK ) will
finally keel over can now commence. Apple announced the new iPhone on Tuesday
afternoon. It will be out on Oct. 14. Of course, the iPhone 4S wasnt the only
product Apple was expected to announce. There is an entire stable of heavily
rumored products allegedly in the pipeline over in Cupertino, Calif. So what was
missing from Apples Tuesday press conference? iPhone 5 The elephant in the room.
The iPhone 4S is a significant technical upgrade over 2010s iPhone 4. It has
upgraded storage, the faster A5 processor used in Apples iPad 2, a camera
capable of HD video recording, and dual antennas that provided better call
stability and data downloads comparable to those touted by Verizon (NYSE: VZ ),
AT&T (NYSE: T ) and Sprint s (NYSE: S ) 4G networks. The new Siri software
actually takes voice commands ! Upgrade or not, it isnt the iPhone 5, the new
model analysts and consumers alike expected Apple to announce. The iPhone 4S was
supposed to be, as months of rumors suggested , a smaller, cheaper version of
the iPhone 4 available alongside the iPhone 5. While a new $99 8GB version of
the iPhone 4 did materialize, there was no iPhone 5 to accompany the 4S debut.
Will the derailed expectations hurt Apples sales? Its possible. A new study from
research group InMobi published in September found that while 40% of North
American consumers wanted an iPhone 5, just 15% expressed interest in a soft
upgrade like the iPhone 3GS was following the iPhone 3. The iPhone 4S branding
could prove to be a thorn in Apples side. iPad 3 There have been a good number
of conflicting rumors concerning the next generation of Apples best-selling
tablet. Some sources suggested Apple would deliver a third model by the holidays
, while others like JPMorgan analyst Mark Moskowitz maintained that a new iPad
wouldnt materialize until 2012 . While Apple did tout impressive statistics for
its tablet at its Tuesday event 92% of Fortune 500 companies have deployed or
are testing the iPad in their businesses no new device debuted. The next iPad
is expected to have a high-resolution screen akin to the Retina Display in
Apples iPhone 4S. Other rumors suggest that Apple will look to take on cable and
satellite providers like Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA ) and Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH
) with a new iPad version of its AirPlay video app as well.