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iPhone 5 may launch in October due to Qualcomm supply issues

Research analysts from Piper Jaffray predict the iPhone 5 will have a fall launch.

Lynn La Senior Editor / Reviews - Phones
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
Lynn La
Josh Miller/CNET

According to an industry note from investment banking firm Piper Jaffray, Apple will most likely continue its trend of October launches and wait until this fall to release the iPhone 5.

This later release date is said to be due to a supply issue with Qualcomm's 28-nanometer modem chip, which will enable the new iPhone to be LTE-compatible.

"We expect the iPhone 5 to not only include a revolutionary newly designed body," read the report, "but also support LTE and utilize the Qualcomm 28nm baseband modem."

Yesterday, Reuters reported that Qualcomm cannot meet demands because of "manufacturing constraints" that will bump up operating costs.

The company's CFO, Bill Keitel, told Reuters that demand has surpassed availability so much that the company has "decided to start spending more money to get more supply as soon as possible."

Keitel also noted that this shortage is draining the company of tens of millions of dollars.