iPhone 5: Rumors

The Internet is alive with the ferocious rumble of an imminent Apple product announcement. Enjoy, here, a consolidated look at all the various reports regarding the iPhone 5 and Apple’s annual World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC).

Release Date

Discussion of the release date is generally the last thing to speak of in a rumor roundup. But it usually is the data point of most interest. Unsurprisingly, no report exists, yet, of any unique release date aside from the predictable WWDC event in June. Apple used the WWDC venue in 2007 to release the original iPhone and almost exactly one year later at the same event they released the iPhone 3G. This trend continued with the iPhone 3G[S] in 2009 and the iPhone 4 in 2010. The trend broke when in October 2011 the iPhone 4[S] was announced as a minor stopgap leading up to the inevitable iPhone 5 at WWDC 2012 set for June 6-10. Some sources, however, would lead one to believe that the delayed launch of the 4S was an intentional effort to shift the iPhone’s regular launch schedule and then an iPhone 5 will not see the light of day until Fall 2012.

Carriers

A pleasant surprise may come for those folks stuck on T-Mobile USA as comments from the cellphone service provider’s CEO suggest that newer radio chipsets supporting the frequency bands used by T-Mobile’s 3G service may find their way into a next-generation iPhone. Alongside the announcement of the iPhone 4S in October, Apple also finally lifted the carrier restriction it handset had held for song long and brought Sprint into the list of supported service providers. Additionally, one can now purchase a carrier unlocked version of the 4S directly from Apple, thus allowing consumers wishing to use a different carrier to avoid the seedy back alleys of the land of Jailbreaking.

It has not been made clear whether or not the iPhone 5 will support 4G LTE services from carriers like Verizon Wireless and AT&T. LTE has, thus far, been met with mixed emotions by those lucky enough to have coverage. It provides exceptional data speeds at the cost of significant battery drain. Whether or not Apple will be able to find an acceptable balance in time for a June launch has yet to be seen.

Specs

The screen on the iPhone has remained largely unchanged since its beginning with the exception of the introduction of the high pixel density Retina display found first on the iPhone 4 in 2010. Rumors now lead us to believe that the iPhone 5 may break the trend and sport a 4” Retina display instead of the existing 3.5” display.

As for memory, the iPhone 4 and 4S both come with 512MB of RAM, slightly less than the average amount of RAM found on other smartphones. The iPhone 5, however, is believed to have 1GB of RAM. Increases in flash storage capacity are not expected to change.

The processor within the iPhone 5 is expected to be the next generation A6 processor expected to debut in iPad 3 in March 2012. Since iPhone 4 first adopted Apple’s custom mobile processor, the A5, in 2010, the iPad and iPhone have used the same chip. If the trend continues, it can be assumed that whatever we see unveiled at a yet unannounced iPad 3 event will be the same as that which will be found in iPhone 5. As previously reported, the A6 in the iPad 3 is expected to be quad core and run a clock speed of 1GHz to 1.4 GHz, though historically Apple has underclocked the chips used in the iPhone for the sake of battery life.

An upgraded camera was included with the launch of the iPhone 4S, and as of yet no major information has come to light regarding any further improvements in this area.

Design

Those same sources responsible for the reports of a larger display also tell of a redesigned form factor. They suggest that the iPhone may adopt a teardrop shape similar to that of the 3G and 3G[S] but with the device’s thickness tapering slightly toward the bottom. However, these reports have been met with great skepticism by readers and reporters alike. Some also believe that Apple will finally replace the physical home button by a capacitive soft button.

Many sites show the influx of so-called iPhone 5 cases manufactured in China hinting at what the possible redesign could look like.

Whether the iPhone 5 brings us laser vision and mind control, or if it is simply an iPhone 4S in a new form factor, those eager to get their hands on it will continue to keep the internet abuzz with rumors and speculation.  As new noteworthy information becomes available, we’ll report here.