iPhone 5: Thinner, Better Camera, 4G?
Although it is very likely that Apple's next generation iPhone may be out in September, some analysts believe that the new device will resemble the iPhone 4 and suffer only minor upgrades to be called something along the lines of 'iPhone 4S' as opposed to iPhone 5.
The new version iPhone is expected to be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4. And rumors including Bloomberg's sources have given reports that it should, for the most part, be the same as the current iPhone. On the other hand, sources for the BGR have claimed just the opposite – the device would sport a “radical new design.”
Either way, anticipation for the new iPhone has been readily escalating and Apple may want to avoid the excitement to cool off by having at least tens of millions of units ready for sale by year's end.
According to the Wall Street Journal, one of Apple's supplying partners was apparently asked by Apple to prepare at least 25 million components to be shipped to Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn. And a second assembling partner, Pegatron Technology, was asked to produce at least 15 million iPhones as reported by Digitimes. If both reports are accurate, then Apple is planning to sell 40 million devices by the end of the fourth quarter.
The Wall Street Journal believes that the new device won't persuade current iPhone users to switch to a new upgraded version due to a lack of major advancements including design changes. But this projection may be put into question after hearing Terry Gou, the chairman of Apple's iPhone assembling company Hon Hai (Foxconn), complain over iPhones and iPads being too difficult to manufacture because they were so thin.
Although such reports make Apple's next-gen iPhone unclear, there are some details that have reached some consensus and are less unclear. Those are:
Hardware:
-A5 dual-core processor
-3.7-inch edge-to-edge display
-8 megapixel camera
-Thinner case
Operating System:
-Powered by the all Apple device compatible iOS 5
Connectivity:
-4G connectivity most likely
3D Capabilities:
-3D display supported (Apple was granted a patent in December 2010 for 3D technologies. Patent title: “Three-dimensional display system”)