For a long time Apple used to follow a nice tradition and released new devices in summer. So each time summer was getting closer, we knew something cool was coming soon. However, in 2011 Apple drifted away from this tradition by launching the iPhone 4S in October. Now there are rumors that the new iPhone 5 will also be released in fall.

Macotakara, a Japanese tech website, posted a rumor not that long ago saying that October 2012 is the release date for the iPhone 5. The source doesn’t mention where this rumor comes from, so we can’t be sure it can be trusted. However, when we think about it, we understand that Apple has a lot of reasons to release its next flagship in fall, not in summer.

First of all, Mobile World Congress 2012 took place not so long ago, and many good devices were announced there, the HTC One X, the Nokia 808 PureView and the Panasonic Eluga being the most interesting ones among them. Most of those devices will be released in the second quarter of 2012, which means they’ll still be at the peak of their popularity in summer. Plus there is a slight chance that Samsung will release its Galaxy S3 in summer, too, so the market will be full of great devices that attract the attentions of the potential buyers. Will Apple’s iPhone 5 be able to stand against such a competition? If Apple wants all eyes focused at its new device only, obviously summer isn’t the best time for releasing it.

However, this is not the only reason to postpone the iPhone 4S launch. For a long time everyone thought Apple’s iOS was a flawless platform, but recently many bugs and holes were found in it. This can affect the trust people have in iOS, so most likely Apple needs more time to find and fix all the holes and release the iPhone 5 with an update or a new version of the platform — a better one than before.

There’s one more reason for Apple to launch the iPhone 5 in fall. The iPhone 4S was released in October, and it’s still selling well, so Apple must sell as many as it’s possible before releasing a new phone. Besides, the iPhone 4S was shipped to some countries rather late, and if the iPhone 5 is released soon, either it or its predecessor won’t have good sales in those countries.

There’s also a chance that Apple first wants to learn more about the trends of 2012 and about the best devices released by the competitors, and then launch the iPhone 5 that will meet even the boldest expectations of the future buyers. If it’s so, after the MWC 2012 Apple knows its upcoming device has to have a bigger screen than the old iPhones, but the great resolution must be kept; the processor should also be made much more powerful: old dual-core CPUs won’t surprise anyone any longer and won’t be able to stand against the quad-core processor of the HTC One X.

What do you think, what other features does the iPhone 5 need to be cooler than the best devices shown at MWC 2012? And what other reasons can keep Apple from releasing its new flagship in summer?