Apple's next-generation iPhone popularly being referred to as iPhone 5 is launching on August 7, claims a blog on Know Your Mobile website. The website makes this claim citing "a reliable industry source" who, it says, has stated that the Cupertino-based tech giant will launch the device during a keynote speech.
Earlier, the same website had reported that the launch date of iPhone 5 has been pushed ahead to August in order to compete better againstSamsung Galaxy S III.
There have been many rumours and leaks about the device. The latest post by Know Your Mobile has pegged the launch date for the much anticipated smartphone at least 3 months ahead of the day when iPhone 4S was unveiled.
Moreover, this launch date will be ahead of the scheduled roll out of iOS 6, which is said to be launched this September. It is anticipated that the upcoming iPhone will be shipped with the latest version of Apple's operating system.
Apple's next-generation iPhone will have a faster processor and will begin shipping in September, three people with direct knowledge of the company's supply chain said.
The production of the new iPhone will start in July/August and the smartphone will look largely similar to the iPhone 4, one of the people said on Wednesday.
The iPhone -- introduced in 2007 with the touchscreen, on-demand application template now adopted by its rivals -- remains the gold standard in the booming smartphone market.
Reports on the timeline of the new iPhone launch vary, though it is largely expected that Apple will likely refresh its iPhone 4 later this year.
The sources declined to be identified because the plans for the new iPhone were not yet public. An Apple spokeswoman in Hong Kong was not available for comment.
Apple's iPhone 5 will feature "slight modifications" from its predecessor, including an 8 megapixel rear camera and will go into production in September, according to a Concord Securities report.
According to Apple Insider, Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a note offering alleged details of the next iPhone. His checks with supply chain sources indicate that the next handset from Apple will not feature an all-new-design, but rather only "slight modifications" from the iPhone 4.
Kuo has reportedly heard that the iPhone 5 will share iPad 2's A5 processor. He has also been told that Apple will switch to a Qualcomm baseband for both GSM and CDMA models, along with an improved antenna design.
In his note, Kuo also notes that the new iPhone will go into trial production in August and mass production in September, allowing Apple to reach shipment volumes of between 28 million and 32 million units this year.
The earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan is likely to hit Apple's supply chain. As a result of component shortages, Kuo said that a new fifth-generation iPod touch may not be announced as usual in September this year.
Kuo's report also presumes that Apple will unveil its fifth-generation iPhone at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, scheduled for June 6 in San Francisco.
According to Apple Insider, Kuo said that he believes that the "main selling point" of iPhone 5, due to its similar design to iPhone 4, will be the new iOS 5 mobile operating system. Kuo expects the company to give a more dramatic hardware change to the iPhone in 2012 when the presumed sixth-generation model will arrive.
Kuo note also mentions that Apple plans a new design and greatly improved hardware specifications for the sixth-generation iPhone.
In an interview to Wall Street Journal, Sony CEO Sir Stringer revealed about the delay in supplying "image sensors" to one of Apple products. The next iPhone is due in June, while iPad just got upgraded. There is no way an iPod Touch is getting a better camera before an iPhone. So, in all probability it is an iPhone and we could be quite sure about the camera being an 8MP one in the next version.
Japan is still recovering from the natural disaster that struck it sometime ago. Apart from making an assessment on the loss of human lives and to business, analysts have been speculating at the loss/delay that worldwide technology companies would be experiencing, as they are dependent on Japan for essential electronic components.
In one such interview to the Wall Street Journal, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer, while explaining the damage to 15 of Sony's plants in Japan, also mentioned that there will be a delay in supplying image sensors which are headed to Apple. The image sensor in question is an 8-megapixel variant which in all probability, is headed to the iPhone 5.
The iPad 2 features a new processor, A5 which would again in all possibility be featured in the next iPhone. Also, Apple has consistently been improving the camera capabilities with every iteration of the iPhone – be it better sensors for image clarity or high-definition photo/video capabilities or more megapixels. If we join all the points, it indicates to a better image sensor, with more megapixels for the next iPhone.
There is another report to support our claims. An analyst report which came out of February pointed that OmniVision, the current supplier of image sensors for the iPhone, may lost out on its contract with Apple since the former's 8-megapixel sensor would not be ready by June/July, the time around which a new iPhone is announced.
It could also happen that the next iPhone itself might be delayed due to the Japanese catastrophe or Apple might chose not to upgrade it at all. We have already heard reports of Apple concentrating more on software, rather than hardware this time at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
The iPhone 5 is the iPhone which many Apple fans want to have a killer feature set. It is the iPhone which should cover any gaps at the moment and solve any issues in the actual design of the 4. Here is our top list of what the iPhone 5 should have as a feature set – and no, we didn’t include flash.
Features the iPhone 5 WILL have
Below are 5 key features which the iPhone 5 will have. We have built this list based on 2011 Smartphones from numerous manufacturers such as Samsung and HTC, and looking at these manufacturers handsets one thing is certain; Apple will undoubtedly include these into it’s upcoming update to the iPhone 4.
Feature number 1: New Design / Unibody Enclosure
From plastic to glass to unibody aluminium, this is the transition we want the iPhone 5 to have this time around, much like their latest Macbook series of computers.
We all know how beautiful a handset looks in unibody as we have all pretty much laid eyes on the HTC Legend which is possibly the greatest looking smartphone ever made. Whats more, and being unibody, the iPhone 5 would be one of the toughest handsets around, unlike the current iPhone 4, which is easily smashable from a large drop.
Feature number 2: NFC Technology Integration
We want the iPhone 5 to have NFC iWallet Technology (link goes to TB post), a feature which we covered earlier in the year surrounding the iPhone 5. This feature is such a high possibility because Benjamin Vigier, the man behind NFC, was employed by Apple earlier in the year; what’s more, the Google Nexus S has NFC built in.
NFC Technology would allow you to pay for everything from cake to clothes by waving your iPhone 5 across a dedicated reader. Many stores already have PayWave readers in place thanks to similar tech being embedded in credit and debit cards.
Feature number 3: Home Screen Customization / widgets
The iPhone 5 should have home screen widgets or some form of added customization options available. This feature doesn’t have the highest probability of happening due to Apple’s genuine philosophy for simplicity, but who exactly likes a standard digital format clock as their home screen?
I think I speak for a lot of iPhone users we I say we want to have widgets on our home screen or lock screen just like Android handsets have; in fact, any form of extra customisation would be appreciated, Apple.
Feature number 4: An updated stock Photo Gallery
This is another software update we want to see, and an update to the ‘Photos’ App is inevetable at some point. The current version of the app gives you a folder, which is touchable, and then opens so you have all your photo’s in a grid, which when clicked, allows you to swipe to see the next one.
This makes the iPhone’s gallery app obsolete compared to Android’s 3D Gallery which got mass press once released on the Nexus One.
Feature number 5: A faster Dual-core processor
The current chip in the iPhone 4 is a very decent processor for a smartphone indeed, in fact, it is the exact same processor as is in the iPad. However, with the latest release of the HTC HD which sports the next generation of Snapdragon processor, the iPhone 5 (if it sported the A4) would be, well, slow on paper – and that isn’t good, because Apple is all about paper.
This video gives you a sense of just how much damage the Japanese tsunami has done to electronics production, including that of Sony [SNE], now thought to be the supplier of future camera modules for the Apple [AAPL] iPhone 5. It doesn't take too much genius to figure out that chaos such as this will be impacting across the consumer electronic supply chain.
Sony CEO Howard Stringer said last weekend that the recent Japanese quake/tsunami/nuclear disaster had affected the company's Sendai plant, where it produces CMOS camera sensors. Stringer claimed Apple buys its sensors from Sony. The video shows one of Sony's Sendai plants. As reported, this one produces professional video tapes, blank Blu-ray Discs and other media products. The disaster means "Sony won't be able to make some of these products for months to come," reports Martyn Williams. The impact? There's already a shortage of HDCAM video tape for portable video cameras.
