PiperJaffray Predicts Metal Back, Qualcomm “Favored Inventory Status” For iPhone 5

Analyst Gene Munster at PiperJaffray refutes earlier concerns that Qualcomm’s 28nm chip shortages could affect the iPhone 5 release date, and also foresees a metal-backed form factor.
Qualcomm made big iPhone 5 news about a month ago, when it was revealed that Qualcomm’s series of 28-nanometer S4 Snapdragon chip inventories had been constrained since December, and as a result, they might not be able to meet production demands for their clients in upcoming months. While I imagined that the constrained inventories could have been possibly caused by Apple themselves buying up chips for a June iPhone 5, the prevailing story line in the rumor mill was that the Qualcomm chip dearth would be further reason for a fall iPhone 5 release. As far back as February, the Blog had been talking about new Qualcomm chips, such as the Gobi, which could find their way into the iPhone 5.
Today, Analyst Gene Munster at PiperJaffray weighed in on the 28-nanometer Qualcomm chip shortage and the iPhone 5, claiming that it should not affect its planned release date — which he believes to be October.

From Apple Insider: “Munster suggested that Apple’s size could help it achieve ‘favored inventory status’ that would lessen the blow from any production woes that Qualcomm is experiencing. The firm also pointed to Apple’s “past experience in dealing with potentially limited components at launch” as reason to believe that the company will remain relatively impervious to the shortage.” In other words, Munster believes that Qualcomm will make sure that Apple gets all the chips it needs to produce as many iPhone 5 as it needs to in order to meet production demands.
Never discussed in Munster’s memo — or anywhere else in the tech media — is a breakdown of where all the 28-nanometer Qualcomm chips went back in December, when inventories became constrained. At that time, only a handful of devices were using those chips, none of which garnered enough sales to substantiate the shortfall. If Apple didn’t buy them up for the iPhone 5, then who did?
Munster also had something to say about the form factor of the iPhone 5. Like most, he imagines it to be an overhaul, and made reference to several interesting points about its features: “Munster ended his note with his thoughts on the possible specifications of Apple’s next iPhone. He believes the redesigned iPhone may ‘more closely resemble the metal rear panel of the current iPad.’ He also said there is a 50 percent chance that the next iPhone will have a screen larger than four inches. ’Beyond the redesigned body and screen, we believe the new phone will include 4G LTE, upgraded processor and memory, and a higher megapixel camera,’ he added.”
His comment about how the iPhone 5 may “more closely resemble the metal rear panel of the current iPad” is interesting in the context of the LiquidMetal rumor, since it would be hard to imagine that Apple would need to invest in the expensive LiquidMetal in order to get the same look that aluminum provides for the iPad. Munster didn’t reference LiquidMetal (interesting), but one has to wonder whether or not aluminum could end up being the construction material of choice, after all.
Another cryptic quote is this one: “there is a 50 percent chance that the next iPhone will have a screen larger than four inches.” It’s hard to parse this one out. How is it that Munster is setting odds on the size of the screen for the iPhone 5? I’d like to know what the chances are that the screen will get larger or not — the question of whether or not the screen is “bigger than four inches” is anomalous at best.