What new features and innovations will Apple will offer in the next model of the iPhone? A patent application here, a parts order there ... this week on Upgrade Your Life, Yahoo! News' Becky Worley puts together the clues plus some refined guesses, to bring us a preview of Apple's up-next iPhone 5!
What will it look like?
There have been some recent rumors that the phone could get noticeably thinner, even tapering toward the bottom. The square edges could round out, making it look a little more like an iPod touch.
Last year's model, the iPhone 4, had a glass back-plate that could get scratched. It is possible that the iPhone 5 will have a brushed metal back-plate, which would help keep it from scratching and make the phone lighter as well.
Besides that, we have heard that Steve Jobs isn't a fan of Physical buttons; the iPhones only has one at front. The iPhone 5 might turn that one physical home button into a Virtual on-screen home button, which would get out of the way while you're watching videos. This would give it a four-inch screen, half an inch bigger than the iPhone 4's. But another rumor has the display bumping up to only a 3.7-inch screen, and the home button getting slightly larger.
Remember, none of above info is coming from Apple. All are rumors, speculations and guessing, so take it with a grain of salt.
What performance upgrades will it have?
It will have a faster, most probably a dual-core processor, plus more ram and an improved camera – and it might be able to take 8 megapixel still pictures and record 1080p HD video. You'll be able to play more realistic games, switch between open apps more quickly, and keep more web pages open at once.
Beyond that, you can bet that Apple does not want a repeat of "Antennagate" and will be paying special attention to the iPhone 5's antenna to make sure there are very fewer connection issues.
Will iPhone 5 have new features?
We already know what features the iPhone 5 won't have a removable battery, a memory card slot, and support for Adobe Flash videos. These features are commonly seen on other phones, but are not what customers expect from Apple products.
One feature that Apple recently filed a patent on is being called a "Smart Bezel" by rumor sites. These are areas just outside the screen that can light up and are touch sensitive. They could be game controlers or battery indicators, or let you use new finger-swipe gestures to control iPhone
Another feature is that the iPhone 5 will get induction charging. That's where you plug in a separate charging pad, and your iPhone recharges just by touching it.
One other possibility is that they might add NFC (Near-Field Communication). This is a technology that would let you pay for things by waving your iPhone near a sensor, sort of like what some 'wave-to-pay' credit cards can do today. NFC is already in widespread use in Japan, and is also being tested in the US. Apple may decide to hold off on it, though, until people are more comfortable using their phones to make payments.
When iPhone 5 will be announced?
The iPhone 4 was announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference last June, though, so the iPhone 5 might debut at this year's WWDC ... or it might not appear until next year. Who knows?
Our best guess is that it will be expected in Q4 of this year – and they might choose to announce it at the yearly iPod event in September, for instance, which would mean that it would be available in time for the holidays.
It's possible that Apple's next big iPhone announcement will be for a 4G Verizon iPhone, instead of the iPhone 5. Networks like Verizon are rolling out super-high speed, 4G wireless infrastructure, and competitors' phones are already taking advantage of it. Don't expect Apple to lag behind them for long!
Any new surprises in iPhone 5?
There usually are! We do not know what Apple planning is, so stay tuned to find out.
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