iPhone 5 release date: Tim Cook’s 4S sequel. iPad 3 is Steve Jobs coda

by Bill Palmer

Buzz has the iPhone 5 release date event in 2012 being a shrine to Apple’s late CEO Steve Jobs, with ideas as far flung as a posthumous pre-taped introductory video visit from Jobs himself to usher in the “one more thing” iPhone 5 and its litany of presumed new features. But history and timing both say that even if such a thing were to happen, it would be for the iPad 3 introduction instead. Apple’s most recent event, the iPhone 4S and iOS 5 launch, was hosted by new Apple CEO Tim Cook with significant contributions from longtime Apple marketing honcho Phil Schiller. Nary a mention was made of Jobs, whom the world later learned was living out the last full day of his life even as his colleagues were unveiling the 4S and making nary a mention of him (most likely at his own insistence, as he would have seen it as a distraction). But enough time having passed by next year, with Tim Cook being viewed firmly as the Apple CEO by that time, why would the iPhone 5 event still not be Jobs-themed? For two reasons, one of which is the fact that the iPad was always Steve’s baby…

Actually, the more simple reason is one of the calendar: with the iPad 3 likely to see its release date around March 2012 and the iPhone 5 not likely to follow until the summer or fall, the iPad event comes first. If Steve were to make a posthumous product introduction (again, we’re not saying the idea sounds realistic, but rather merely addressing viability of the buzz we’re hearing), it would be at Apple’s next event – and that’ll be the iPad 3 event. But it runs deeper than that. When Apple introduced the first iPad, Jobs revealed that he’d been working on the iPad since before even the iPhone was on the table. He viewed the iPad tablet as the device of the future, the one which would replace Mac and PC computers in most homes; he admitted he only decided to shrink the iPad down into phone-size and go that route first because that’s the way the industry wind was blowing…

In fact, after his transplant, Jobs came back to Apple specifically to finish the iPad and get it out the door, which he did in the spring of 2010. In fact, even after taking a medical leave of absence, he still showed up on stage to introduce the iPad 2 this past spring. If Steve were going to do something as seemingly out of character as filming an introductory video before his death to be used at a future Apple event, it would be the iPad 3 introduction if anything.

It wouldn’t be the first time Jobs has surprised people at an Apple event. In the fall of 2009, not too long after his transplant, he was the first person on stage. That alone earned him an extended standing ovation from the press in attendance. If he were able to sneak in one last “one more thing” it would send the room – and the world – into a frenzy. But if such a thing were to happen, it would be at the iPad 3 event, not at the iPhone 5 release date. However, don’t look for it at all if you don’t want to be disappointed. While Jobs appeared to enjoy playing showman for Apple’s new products, he wanted the focus on the products themselves. Here’s more on the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5.

About Bill Palmer

Bill Palmer is Editor in Chief of Beatweek Magazine. His editorial contributions include interviews with musicians and iPhone industry coverage.