Though Apple released the iPhone 4S with much fanfare, it was pretty obvious that millions were disappointed with what the iPhone 4S had to offer. Actually, it was exactly the same as the iPhone 4 in design and physical appearance. Only the processor and the virtual assistant in Siri, made the iPhone 4S different from the iPhone 4. Even though the iPhone 4S has been a hit in terms of sales, there are millions and millions of iPhone 4 users who skipped on the upgrade, to obviously upgrade to the iPhone 5 instead of the iPhone 4S. Below, you will find a quick roundup of the specs, news and rumors that have been generated on the iPhone 5 which is due to be released for sure, in 2012.
iPhone 5 specifications (Expected)
iPhone 5 4G LTE
The 4G network has arrived, with a big bang. 4G speeds, especially LTE speeds, can result in download speeds of up to 32Mbps which makes 3G look like something that came out in the 1970′s. So, it is only obvious that Apple will or should include 4G LTE support in the iPhone 5. Several rumors actually suggested that Apple desperately tried to include 4G LTE support in the iPhone’s existing 3.5 frame although they just couldn’t do so because the phone was just too small for the rather large 4G LTE chips. This essentially means that the iPhone 5 will get a larger screen, probably 4 or 4.3 inches, if it has to incorporate 4G LTE technology. We have gone over the details on the iPhone 5 screen size in the section below.
iPhone 5 Screen – Will it be bigger than 3.5 inches?
This is a pretty tricky question, for several reasons. To start things off, you must remember that Steve Jobs was very insistent about the iPhone’s screen size being no bigger than 3.5 inches, measured diagonally of course.Steve Jobs gave utmost importance to the design element of his products and felt that the 3.5 inch screen was just the “perfect” size for a phone. Even just before his death, he expressed his opinion that he still thought that the 3.5 inch screen was the best size for the iPhone, both current and future. Steve Jobs has publicly made statements to the press that he is concerned about the use of large screens on Apple devices as they will result in a compromise on battery life. According to him, the only solution would be to increase the size of the battery although that will call for design modifications that are just not feasible, considering that Apple makes some of the most stylish products that are available in the market today.
Another pressing problem that might prevent the iPhone 5 from getting a larger screen is that a larger screen might not allow Apple to incorporate it’s high quality retina display resolution on a larger screen. If the screen is going to be bigger than 3.5 inches, it would obviously be difficult to pack in the same amount of pixels per square inch, thereby compromising the quality of the screen. Since retina display is almost impossible on a 4 inch screen on a 4.5 inch screen, Apple might be forced to keep the iPhone 5 screen size at the same 3.5 inches that have been featured in all the previous 5 generation of iPhone’s.
When could the iPhone 5 possibly be released?
This is another tricky question to be answered as Apple usually never hints at release dates of its products. So, we pretty much have to guess at a probable release date. There are some who suggest that the iPhone 5 will be released in June of 2012. However, June and July have traditionally been reserved as iPad release dates and not iPhone release dates. With several rumors suggesting that the iPad 3 has entered production stage, it is very likely that the iPhone 5 will not be released in June or July of 2012, along with the release of the iPad 3.
Just about a week ago, we read a pretty reliable source’s blog that said that the iPhone 5 launch or release date has unofficially been decided as October 5, 2012. The date falls exactly on the first death anniversary of Steve Jobs, suggesting that Apple have decided to release the iPhone 5 as a way to pay tribute to its late founder. October 5, 2012, aside from being a symbolic release date for Apple, is also a date that makes a lot of sense in terms of business. October is not too far away from the holiday shopping season and it will be prime time for releasing a high profile product like the iPhone 5.
Other probable features in the iPhone 5
Though the vast majority of iPhone lovers are anticipating a larger screen and 4G LTE speeds, there are also some iPhone fans who want to see a faster processor and a new OS in the iPhone 5, when it does come out. There have been a few rumors that have seemed to suggest that the iPhone 5 is going to get a super fast quad core processor, along with a much more sophisticated and easy to use IOS6 Though these sensational rumors about a exciting new quad core processor sound very inviting, we think that the iPhone 5 will get the same A5 processor that has been used in the 4S. If anything, the RAM might be upgraded to 1GB, instead of the 512 MB that is currently being used in the 4S.
Honestly, we think that a quad core processor is overkill for a cell phone. So, in all likelihood, the iPhone 5 will get the same A5 processor that has been used in the iPhone 4S. However, we do think that the iPhone 5 will run on IOS6 that may possibly include some exciting features such as NFC support, 3D camera support, facial recognition and a few other exciting features.
