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Citi goes sour on Apple, claims iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 delay

Citibank analyst Glen Yeung is down on Apple's prospects, citing delays until September and inventory issues.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers
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The expected iPhone 5S will see an extended delay in delivery, while iPad Mini demand is softening, according to a research note from Citigroup Capital Markets. The note also claimed a Retina MacBook Air is coming.

"We have previously written that iPhone5S, despite an accelerated design phase, was modestly delayed from June to July," wrote Citi's Glen Yeung in a research note Sunday. "With input from Citi's Taiwan-based technology research team...we now believe that a further 1- to 2-month delay (from July to August or September) is possible, likely stemming from volume production issues."

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek also said last week that the rumored iPhone 5S and low-cost iPhone will likely be delayed.

The iPhone 5S had been expected to arrive in June.

And don't expect an iPhone 6 this year either, Citi's Yeung said. Here's what he said about the fourth quarter.

4Q13 (September) refreshes...we expect several product refreshes in 4Q13. Specifically, we expect iPhone 5S (better camera & processor, NFC, new colors), iPad Mini (Retina and non-Retina refresh), iPad 5 (slimmer, lighter, thinner bezel), MacBook Air Retina. We do NOT expect iPhone 6 (large screen) and remain unclear on low-end iPhone

A Retina MacBook Air would mean that most of Apple's MacBook line would be available with high-resolution Retina displays. So far, only 13.3-inch and 15.4-inch MacBook Pro models offer that display.

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Yeung also expressed concern about "softening" iPad Mini demand. And he expects both Retina and non-Retina versions of the iPad Mini 2.

"We remain concerned about iPad Mini demand in light of flattening production in 3Q13 (third quarter 2013)...potentially two models in 4Q13: Retina Mini 2 and non-Retina Mini 2."

Yeung was not sanguine about Apple shares. "We remain in the minority by NOT recommending Apple," he wrote.