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. In the following passages, we will discuss the possible or probable specs that might be featured in the Apple iPhone 5 and will also briefly touch upon the release date of the next iPhone, due to be launched in 2012.
iPhone 5 – Expected Specs and features
iPhone 5 to get 4G LTE speeds
It is now the 4G generation. 4G LTE speeds can result in insane download speeds of up to 30Mbps which makes 3G look like a snail crossing the road. Considering the fact that 4G has taken off quite amazingly in terms of popularity, Apple would be making a huge blunder if the iPhone 5 does not come with 4G LTE support. 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.
Will the iPhone 5 screen remain at 3.5 inches or will it be enlarged to a 4 or 4.3 inch screen?
This is a pretty tricky question, for several reasons. For beginners, it is public knowledge that Steve Jobs, the inventory of the iPhone was a ardent fan of the 3.5 inch screen size.Steve Jobs was a firm believer that anything more than a 3.5 inch screen for a phone was oversized, ugly and uncalled for. Jobs was also very adamant about the 3.5 inch screen as he felt that larger screens would result in less battery life. Compromised battery life just didn’t fit into Job’s idea of a cell phone as all of Apple products have been known for their exceptional battery life.
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. Considering that retina display is very difficult to implement on a screen that is larger than 3.5 inches, there is actually a very good chance that the iPhone 5 will retain the same 3.5 inch display that was featured in the iPhone, iPhone 3G, 3GS, iPhone 4 and 4S.
When in 2012 will the iPhone 5 be released?
Apple has always been secretive about release dates for its products. Because of this, we can only guesstimate the big release date or launch date for the iPhone 5. There are millions, probably just like yourself, who are expecting the iPhone 5 to come out in the summer of 2012. However, June and July have traditionally been reserved as iPad release dates and not iPhone release dates. With iPad 3 production and shipping almost finalized, there is very little chance that the iPhone 5 will be launched or released along with the iPad 3. The iPhone 5 is just too popular a product to share a release date with another high profile gadget.
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. We agree that October 5, 2012 is the most likely release date of the iPhone 5 as the date also coincides with the traditional release date of Apple products in the fall, with Apple trying to put out a product just before the holiday season, where people are most likely to shell out about $300 or $400 on an Apple product.
Other interesting specs that might be included in the iPhone 5
Apart from 4G LTE, a larger screen and an October release date for the iPhone 5, the other big news about the iPhone 5 have to do with the choice of processor and operating system. 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. If anything the clock speed of the A5 processor might be increased in the iPhone 5 model. But, we are hopeful that the OS will receive an upgrade as there have been several rumors that have suggested that the IOS6 will support some exciting features such as NFC support, facial unlock technology, panoramic camera mode and so on.