iPhone 5 rumours: what you need to know
In Depth: The latest speculation about the iPhone 5G release
By Gary Marshall, October 7th
iPhone 5 rumours are picking up pace
iPhone 5 (or the iPhone 5G, as some are calling it) rumours are flying thick and fast already. Will there be a rush release to erase memories of the iPhone 4’s antenna problems?
Will the 5th generation iPhone deliver ultra-fast mobile internet? Will it ever end up on Verizon in the US?
Let’s discover what the rumour mill has to say, and which iPhone 5 rumours are the most convincing.
The iPhone 5 release date will be in the summer…
Apple’s established a rhythm with iPhone releases, with new models appearing in late June or early July each year. It’s a safe bet that the iPhone 5 release date will also be late June or early July.
…or maybe the iPhone 5 release date will be earlier
iLounge says its source reckons Apple will push the iPhone 5 released date forwards – possibly to January 2011 – because of the iPhone 4 antenna problems, although iLounge itself says the claim is “hard to believe”. It’s unclear whether such a rush release would be an iPhone 4 with a different antenna or something more substantial.
The iPhone 5 specs may include a digital wallet
There’s been some speculation that Apple might include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the iPhone 5, turning it into a kind of credit/debit card.
However, as Techeye.net notes, “Apple has looked into NFC before” so this might not be imminent.
PAY PHONE: Apple patents show how a near field communication-equipped iPhone 5 could act as a kind of credit card
The iPhone 5 might be on Verizon
The Verizon iPhone rumour has been around forever, and one day it’ll come true. Will that day be the iPhone 5 release date? Apple may be using Qualcomm chipsets in the iPhone 5, and Qualcomm created the CDMA network that’s used by Verizon and Sprint in the US.
That doesn’t mean a Verizon phone is imminent, but as Slashgear says, dual-mode chipsets make a Verizon-friendly iPhone 5 a bit more likely.
The iPhone 5 specs will be similar to the iPhone 4
According to the Chinese Economic Daily News (via AppleInsider), with the exception of Qualcomm chipsets – which would replace the current Infineon chipsets in the iPhone 4 – Apple’s sticking with the same suppliers for the 2011 iPhone 5 components.
The iPhone 5 specs will be evolutionary, not revolutionary
We’d expect the basics of the iPhone 5 specs to get a bump – more memory, faster processor, more storage – but DVICE quotes a single insider who claims to have handled Verizon prototypes.
The specs? A new antenna, 1.2GHz processor and a larger screen: 3.7″ instead of 3.5″. The iPhone 5 may also be made from a new kind of alloy, or maybe meat.
BETTER SIGNAL: After “antennagate” we’re sure Apple’s tinkering with the iPhone antenna for the iPhone 5
The iPhone 5 specs may include LTE support
At least one analyst thinks the iPhone 5 will support LTE, super-fast mobile broadband, in the US. That would make the iPhone 5 a 4G phone, which won’t be confusing at all. LTE is certainly coming – AT&T plans to roll out its LTE service in 2011 – but an LTE iPhone has been rumoured for a while. USA Today floated the idea of an LTE iPhone on Verizon last year.
FASTER PHONE: HTC’s Evo takes advantage of 4G mobile broadband in the US. Could the fifth iPhone do the same?
The iPhone 5 price won’t change
If the iPhone 5 is an evolutionary step like the move from the iPhone 3 to the iPhone 3GS – and we think it will be – then we’d expect the price to stay more or less the same, although in the UK it might increase slightly due to January’s VAT rise.
From: www.techradar.com