Is the Next iPhone Coming in October? Of Course

It’s time to place your bets: When will Apple unveil its next iPhone? Recent rumors have suggested a second-quarter debut, but that seems too early for a number of reasons–most notably that the iPhone 4S is still selling like hotcakes.

Piper Jaffray analyst and longtime Apple watcher Gene Munster has a better guess: October 2012.

In a note today to investors, Munster predicted the successor to the iPhone 4S will arrive in October, Bloomberg reports. The next-gen model will feature a new design and work with 4G LTE networks, he wrote.

The October launch date is actually a revision of the financial analyst’s earlier prediction of an August release. Qualcomm, which supplies radio chips for the iPhone, is having problems meeting supply demands, according to Munster.

A rumor last month from unnamed sources in South Korea predicted the next iPhone would feature a 4.6-inch display. The iPhone 4S’s screen measures 3.5 inches diagonally, which is downright tiny compared to the latest Android and Windows Phone handsets.

Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus, for instance, has a 4.65-inch display and its Galaxy Note skirts dangerously into tablet territory with a gargantuan 5.3-inch screen. The HTC Titan II, which runs Windows Phone, has a 4.7-inch display.

It’s a given that Apple will enlarge the iPhone’s display, but almost certainly not to Galaxy Note-like dimensions. While the Galaxy Note is selling well, its big-and-beefy look doesn’t mesh with Apple’s sleek-and-slim motif. The Korean rumor–a 4.6 inch screen–sounds about right for Apple’s flagship phone.

Contact Jeff Bertolucci at Today@PCWorld, Twitter (@jbertolucci) or jbertolucci.blogspot.com.