There is no doubt that Apple is well aware of the increased competition in the market and could be in a hurry to put another device out there, said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC Mobile Devices Technology and Trends. Given its history with product launches and business policy, though, Apple probably isn't going to rush an iPhone release simply to put it on shelves, he said. "If you're Tim Cook (CEO of Apple), you're thinking if you want to pay more attention to how to keep growing that bottom line and keep investors happy, or continue with the same approach from Apple, which is do what we can do and manage products and releases in the best way they can work for us. Apple usually does things in their own time ,and I'm having a hard time buying this May or June timeline." Llamas told Mac News World. While it,s probable that Apple is definitely in a testing stage for its next smartphone , consumers likely have a standard wait for the finished product, said Colin Gibbs, analyst at GigaOm Pro. "It typically takes a year or longer to create a state-of-the-art smartphone, so no one should be surprised Apple is in the testing stages with the next iPhone. And while it's possible that Apple could launch the next iPhone this spring or summer, I'm not expecting to see it until a little later in the year," he told Mac News World. When it does launch, though, it could be in a variety of colors, said Gibbs. "Apple has already tested the waters with releasing colored devices when it revamped(,)its iPod line last fall, so it's not too much of a stretch to believe it would want the new twist with its smartphone, as well". "I wouldn't be surprised if the new iPhone becomes available in some new colors,'' he said. "That could be done pretty cheaply ,and it would give Apple a new marketing angle." As for the next iPhone, Colin Gibbs didn't mention  _
the stage of its being tested the rough time of its being released the wide variety of its color the function to be improved