A big question in the technology world is whether Apple plans to shift its iPhone timeline from June to the fall. According to a report from Avian Securities, the latter option seems more likely.

Speaking to what the firm calls key component suppliers, Avian believes that the next iPhone won't begin production until September. This means that the iPhone 5 won't make it to market until the end of this year, or, in worst-case scenario, the beginning of 2012.

The Avian report also points to the existence of a lower cost iPhone equipped with more modest -- though still impressive -- specifications. The existence of this device, the report says, is supported by both data and widespread speculation.

Bloomberg reported the existence of such a phone in February, noting that a cheaper iPhone would be Apple's attempt to counter the growing influence of Google's Android operating system. Despite the rumors, Avian Securities doesn't have a specific timeline for the device.

While our contacts have seen the placeholder in the Apple roadmap, they do not yet have insight into specs or production timing, the note says,