Want a Bigger Apple iPhone? Wait 15 Months

According to analysts at Jefferies, consumers who yearn for a larger iPhone will have to wait until June 2014. Sometime around there, Apple AAPL will launch an iPhone 6 with a 4.8 inch screen. Jefferies claims that Apple wanted to release the iPhone 6 before June of next year, but that the company has faced issues in scaling up its screen size from four inches. Instead, Jefferies expects Apple to release an iPhone 5S this June. Over the last year, smart phones running Google's GOOG Android operating system have come with progressively larger screens, most notably Samsung's Galaxy S3. CEO Tim Cook has been asked about this trend, but has consistently rejected it. During Apple's last earnings call, Cook said that Apple believed it had picked the “right size” for the iPhone 5's screen. Jefferies believes Cook's comment were a ruse, intended to prevent a drop off in iPhone demand as consumers delayed purchases in anticipation of the iPhone 6. As for Apple the stock, Jefferies maintained its Hold rating on the company and $500 price target. Shares of Apple traded near $470 on Wednesday.