Apple has finally announced the media event in which they will announce the new iPhone 5. With a very obvious picture that they sent out to media this morning, Apple put the number 12 and the shadow reflecting from that 12 is a 5, so one can assume that the iPhone 5 will be announced on September 12th. Don’t worry, you actually don’t even need to assume, the iPhone 5 WILL be announced on September 12th. But what are we going to see from the iPhone 5? Let’s take a look a at popular rumors and come to a consensus on what the new iPhone will look like, it’s name and when it will be released.
Release Date
After being confirmed that the iPhone 5 will be announced on September 12th, it has also become a general consensus that it will be released nine days later on the 21st. As usual, the release will cause stores to crowd and shipping dates to be put backward. Apple stocks have gone sky high due to talks about the iPhone 5 so expect a huge following from the phone, perhaps bigger than that of any of the other iPhone releases.
Name
While it is most likely that the new phone will be called the iPhone 5, it is still possible, especially with the iPad 3 being called the new iPad, that the new iPhone will be called just that. Apple has never really been super great at naming things but they do a whole lot better at doing so than Windows PC machine manufacturers who name their products random letters and numbers no one can remember. We believe it is most likely that it will be called the iPhone 5, since Apple is giving complaints to the people who currently own iPhone5.com and their developer numbers are iPhone 5,1 and iPhone 5,2.
Form Factor
Unlike the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 5 will be a completely new design. It has been wildly rumored to have a bigger four-inch screen and while it may sound unlikely Apple would change the screen size, rumors are pointed towards the otherwise. Bigger speaker grills and a two tone back with brushed aluminum is expected. One of the biggest changes will be the relocation and redoing of the connectors which I will talk a bit more about in a minute. As Apple always heads for the “thinner is better” mentality, you can expect that the iPhone 5 will be thinner than it’s predecessor, the iPhone 4S. It is expected to be 7.4 mm, a 1.7 mm difference from the 9.1 mm of the iPhone 4S. As a result of it being thinner, expect it to weigh somewhat less.
Connections
The biggest change to the bottom of the iPhone is about to occur. Apple, in the first time since the original iPhone, will change it’s dock connector. It is planning to adopt a 8,9 or 19 pin dock connector with most sources pointing at 9. The 3.5 mm headphone jack is expected to be at the bottom of the device along with a aforementioned bigger speaker grills.
Specs
It is expected we will see a quad-core processor debut in the iPhone 5 especially since other phone manufacturers have already adopted it. It will probably be called the Apple A6, and of course, be faster than it’s predecessor. The processor certainly needs to faster in order to impress people into buying it. Reports are saying we will see 1 GB of RAM in the phone and it makes sense that we will.
4G
Due to the fact that “the new iPad” has 4G, you can expect the iPhone 5 to have it as well and since other smartphones released this year have it, I can almost guarantee you that you will see 4G. 4G can be up to 10 times faster than 3G depending on the circumstances.
Screen
Many sources have been claiming that the new iPhone 5 will have a bigger screen size. It has been rumored that the iPhone 5 could have curved glass screens but that is unlikely. it is most likely that it will be the standard flat screen. It will have a 4.x screen size, and while many reports claim 4.1 inches, there are a few who say more than that, up to 4.6 inches. The display of course will be a retina display as the iPhone and iPod touch have been Retina since 2010. It has been said it will be made by Sharp or Sony.
NFC
Some rumors detailing NFC (Near Field Communications allows devices to communicate with credit/debit machines for fast payments) have been rampant in the rumor community. NFC has been featured on other phones in the past and with the iOS 6 app Passbook, it gives Apple reason to add such a thing.
Cameras
Sony currently creates the cameras for iPhone 4 and 4S. Sources have claimed it will again feature a 8 MP camera but with newer, more stable features. Many reports say the iPhone 5 will feature a HD front-facing camera
Liquid Metal?
Liquid metal is an alloy that is very strong and built to last. Many people are interested in the fact that Apple has extended it’s contract of exclusivity with a company that makes liquid metal technology considering that Apple only used it for it’s iPhone 3G’s SIM card ejector. While it may be unlikely that the iPhone 5 will have liquid metal, don’t discount it entirely as it could happen. If Apple kept it’s exclusivity, they kept it for a reason. The more probable device is the iPhone 6 but we’ll just have to see what Apple does on the 12th.
The iPhone 5 is shaking up to be revolutionary, the biggest step up since the original iPhone. While people were originally upset that the iPhone 5 came last year, perhaps it was actually a great idea since it gave them more time to deliver a product that will be truly amazing and on September 12th, something truly amazing may be an understatement as to what’s to come that day.
Thanks for reading,
Joe