iPhone Savior: Analyst Reports Apple Building Two New iPhone Models

Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu, issued a report early Wednesday morning fueled by his own delicious speculation aimed at the next-generation iPhone. Wu cites intel from his supply chain and other industry sources according to an Apple 2.0 post.

"Wu’s sources indicate a “build plan” for the new models in the 5 million to 6 million unit range, considerably higher than his current 4.5 million estimate for the September quarter (fiscal Q4)." Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports.

Another bite-sized tidbit served up by Wu is the potential of Apple launching two new iPhone models. One premium "senior" model boasting longer battery life along with a much more powerful processor used for running more complex apps and a secondary model expected to be a less-powerful “junior” iPhone.

The current iPhone 3G device will benefit from the upgraded 3.0 software features announced by Apple in early March. Its expected to launch in tandem with the new iPhones.

ChangeWave Research conducted a poll recently of nearly 4,300 cell phone owners, revealing that 20 per cent of the respondents said that they were leaning toward buying an iPhone because of the 100 new features Apple is baking into their iPhone 3.0 software.

While Wu offered no fresh insight on Apple's timing to launch the next-gen iPhone, which many expect will be unveiled at the WWDC on June 6th, he did stir up rumors that AT&T may finally be giving into pressure to offer tiered monthly data plan pricing.

"Wu’s sources indicate a “high likelihood” that AT&T will come out with more flexible “tiered” data plans to replace the one-size-fits-all $30 a month unlimited plan that has run into resistance among newly price-conscious consumers." Elmer-DeWitt reported.

Wu is holding steady with his “buy” rating on Apple, Inc. (AAPL) with a $120 price target.

[Read entire Apple 2.0 post]