Apple Preparing Thinner and Lighter iPhone 5 to Launch This Fall

Citing a new report from WSJ today indicates that Apple is indeed gearing up with a new iPhone for a launch this fall, with an initial production target of 25 million units through the end of the year.

“Apple’s sales estimates of the new iPhone is quite aggressive. It told us to prepare to help the company meet its goal of 25 million units by the end of the year,” said another person at one of Apple’s suppliers. “The initial production volume will be a few million units… we were told to ship the components to assembler Hon Hai in August.”

The various iPhone 5 rumors have been going back and forth on whether or not a significant redesign is coming, but the new report seems to suggest that iPhone 5 will have a completely redesigned case after all:

According to some suppliers of components to Apple, the new version of the iPhone is expected to be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4 and sport an 8-megapixel camera. One person said the new iPhone will operate on Qualcomm Inc.’s wireless baseband chips.

Apple’s manufacturing partner Foxconn/Hon Hai is said to be having difficulties with the new device due to it being “complicated and difficult to assemble.“

Two of the people, however, cautioned that shipments of the new iPhone could be delayed if Hon Hai can’t improve its yield rate as the new iPhone is “complicated and difficult to assemble.”

Reports over the past few months have been pointing to a September release for the next-generation iPhone, carrying Apple’s A5 processor with an 8-megapixel rear camera, and a Qualcomm baseband chip for both GSM and CDMA networks. iOS 5 and iCloud are also to be released this fall as well.