Dueling iPhone 5 Release Rumors; It's Like Daisy Petal Picking

It's coming in June; it's coming in June – not; it's coming in…..

Appleinsider's Neil Hughes says that rumors of a later-than-usual iPhone model revision for 2011 are being fueled by notoriously secretive Apple being even more secretive than usual in its dealings with overseas suppliers subcontracting to build the devices and their various components as regards the iPhone 5.

Hughes cites a note to investors by Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White, who is on a tech company visit sweep through Taiwan and China, commenting last Friday that "Apple is keeping its iPhone 5 cards extra close to the vest on this launch to avoid a falloff in iPhone 4 demand ahead of a refresh, especially given the February launch of the CDMA iPhone 4 with Verizon." However, White guesses there's still room for the iPhone 5 to still launch in June or July, consistent with Apple's usual calendar envelope for major iPhone announcements and revisions, and noting that there's really no solid evidence supporting either that postulate or a later iPhone 5 release in the fall.

TheStreet's James Rogers agrees with White, suggesting that with iPhone 5 rumors "ping-ponging" back and forth, the chatter, and in some instance angst, over a significant iPhone 5 release delay may be getting overblown.

On the other hand, Rogers notes — as I too have here previously — that Apple's press release for the June Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC), which in recent years has been a venue for iPhone revision announcements, made no reference to new hardware, a seemingly pointed omission, and affirmed instead that this year's WWDC will be focused on unveiling the future of iOS and Mac OS. Of course, we can't discount the possibility of a Steve Jobsian "one more thing" surprise announcement of the iPhone 5 at the keynote climax, whether or not the ailing (and we hope mending) Mr. Jobs is there to deliver it.

My takeaway is that while Apple's new and revised product releases are at least roughly predictable more often than not, attempting to pin them down to a precise time frame is a mug's game and an exercise in frustration and futility, compounded by the fact that from the moment the iPhone5 (launch of which is inevitable at some point in the not too distant future) is announced, new speculation will ramp up focusing on iPhone 6. Indeed, the iPad 2 announcement was still weeks in the future when prognostications about an iPhone 3 began circulating.

Waiting out anticipated product announcements can be frustrating, or part of the fun, depending on how you choose to look at it, but the upside is that current iPhone 4 is an excellent device that will do a fine job for you if you really need to make a purchase in the short term.

iPhone 5 Specs: Thinner, Larger 3.7-Inch Screen, Home Button With Gesture Area & More

Joshua Topolsky, former Engadget Editor has just revealed some interesting information about Apple's next generation iPhone – iPhone5, which is rumored to be released in September.

According to Topolsky who writes at This is my next, the 5th generation iPhone will be completely redesigned and it will look like iPod Touch 4G rather than iPhone 4.

Topolopsy reports that according to their sources, iPhone 5 will be thinner than the iPhone 4, and have a "teardrop" shape, which goes from thick to thin like MacBook Air.

He has revealed that the home button will be enlarged and will double up as the home button and also a gesture area:

this falls in line with testing we've seen for gestures on the iPad, and our sources say that gestures are definitely coming in a future version of iOS. The home button will likely be enlarged, but not scrapped altogether.

He also confirms that iPhone 5 will come with a larger 3.7 inch screen (compared to the 3.5 inch screen), which will occupy nearly the entire front of the phone while keeping the same resolution.

The sketch supplied to them by a source indicates some form of inductive or touch charging but their sources have not been able to confirm it.

You can also checkout the mockup of what the next generation iPhone will look like based on information they've received.

We really like the idea of the home button doubling up as a gesture area and though we like the design of iPhone 4, will love to see a completely redesigned iPhone, which is thinner and comes with a larger Retina display.

What about you? Please share your views in the comments section below.

White iPhone 4 Running Mystery Version of iOS Spotted in the Wild

Here's some double news for you. Vietnamese site Tinhte, who has a pretty good track record of verified Apple leaks, is back at it. This time, they are demoing on video what they claim to be a test version of the white iPhone 4 running a mystery iOS.

While it's hard to tell whether this iOS version is legit or not, I can't imagine it being a jailbreak tweak. I think if it was, we would have figured it out by now…Perhaps the most interesting part of this iOS is the way it handles multitasking. As you can see on the video below, instead of showing the app switcher, it shows you a minimized view of each app opened, a la MultiFl0w. Just like MultiFl0w, you can tap on one of the windows to go to this app, or you can delete it by tapping and holding, then tap the " X ."

On the second video, you can see how folders are implemented. While they look very similar to the current folder implementation, you can tell there is a slight difference. Additionally, there are some interesting settings end users have never seen before – namely Carrier and Internal settings.

So, is this real or is this fake? Well, it seems to be 100% real and what these videos show appears to be a test iPhone 4 running an internal build of iOS 4, as shown in the image below, extracted from the video at about 1.35 min (thanks @H4R4SM for the tip) – iOS 4 Build 8A216.

Well folks, it seems that these videos shed light on what we'll most likely see in iOS 5. Excited or what?

iPhone 5 production begins in July, ships in September; looks like the iPhone 4 – Reuters

Reuters reports that the iPhone 5 will begin production in July and ramp up for a September release.  This fits in with a lot of the chatter out there over the last few months. It isn't certain why Apple chose to deviate from its previous June/July schedule, but perhaps iPhones are the new back to school items…or are going to be grouped with iPods from now on. Apple typically holds a fall media event at the beginning of September. This would be the perfect place to showcase their new iPhone.

The new smartphone will have a faster processor but will look largely similar to the current iPhone 4, one of the people said. They declined to be identified because the plans were not yet public.

The companies would begin production either in July or August before shipping components to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, flagship of Foxconn Technology Group, for assembly, they said.

The next-generation iPhone is rumored to include the dual-core A5 processor and graphics enhancements found in the iPad 2, possibly 64 GB of storage, a larger screen, a metal back, and new cloud-based functionality through Apple's upcoming iOS 5. We will most likely learn Apple's thinking behind their fifth-generation handset at the upcoming World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in early June. This is the event where Apple is promising the introduction of iOS 5.

White iPhone 4 Running Mystery Version of iOS Spotted in the Wild

Here's some double news for you. Vietnamese site Tinhte, who has a pretty good track record of verified Apple leaks, is back at it. This time, they are demoing on video what they claim to be a test version of the white iPhone 4 running a mystery iOS.

While it's hard to tell whether this iOS version is legit or not, I can't imagine it being a jailbreak tweak. I think if it was, we would have figured it out by now…Perhaps the most interesting part of this iOS is the way it handles multitasking. As you can see on the video below, instead of showing the app switcher, it shows you a minimized view of each app opened, a la MultiFl0w. Just like MultiFl0w, you can tap on one of the windows to go to this app, or you can delete it by tapping and holding, then tap the " X ."

On the second video, you can see how folders are implemented. While they look very similar to the current folder implementation, you can tell there is a slight difference. Additionally, there are some interesting settings end users have never seen before – namely Carrier and Internal settings.

So, is this real or is this fake? Well, it seems to be 100% real and what these videos show appears to be a test iPhone 4 running an internal build of iOS 4, as shown in the image below, extracted from the video at about 1.35 min (thanks @H4R4SM for the tip) – iOS 4 Build 8A216.

Well folks, it seems that these videos shed light on what we'll most likely see in iOS 5. Excited or what?

iPhone 5 Unlikely To Support 4G LTE Network

It is widely speculated that Apple will delay the launch of iPhone5 to fall this year instead of unveiling it at WorldWide Developer Conference 2011.

Some industry experts felt that this could give Apple enough time to add support for 4G LTE networks. But it seems unlikely based on the comments made by Apple's Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook during the quarterly earning call on Wednesday.

Tim Cook had this to say when he was asked about what Apple thoughts about the maturity of 4G LTE networks and their plans to launch products that support for 4G LTE network:

The first generation of LTE chip-sets force a lot of design compromises with the handset, and some of those we are just not willing to make.

Will Strauss, President of wireless chip tracker Forward Concepts doesn't expect chip-sets to arrive in time for iPhone 5:

They're right that there's nothing out there that fits the bill, and likely nothing will until the fourth quarter of this year.

Strauss explains how Apple's competitors have managed to launch smartphones with 4G support:

The only 4G handset on the market in the United States, Verizon's Thunderbolt, currently relies on a pair of chips to work. One chip, from Samsung, communicates with Verizon's 4G networks, allowing the handset to achieve blazing data speeds of between 5 and 20 MBPS. Another chip, from Qualcomm, lets the handset talk to Verizon's 3G network.

That two chip solution is needed because Verizon's 4G network isn't widespread enough for the carriers to offer handsets that rely on 4G alone.

Strauss goes on to add that Apple is looking for a solution where chips support 4G and 3G on a single chip so that the 4G LTE iPhone is as thin or thinner than iPhone 4 and it doesn't consume too much battery life.

According to Strauss, chipmakers like Qualcomm, ST Ericcson and Intel will launch the next generation chips that support 4G and 3G on a single chip towards the end of this year, which means that 5th generation iPhone won't support 4G LTE network.

Will the lack of support for 4G LTE network be a deal breaker for you to buy or upgrade to iPhone 5?

The iPhone 5 Compendium: A Complete List Of Rumored iPhone 5 Features To Date

The tech community has been prognosticating about the features of the iPhone5 ever since the iPhone 4 made its debut in the summer of 2010. Here's a quick yet thorough list of purported features that very well may end up on the iPhone 5.

Do a quick review of the articles here on the iPhone 5 News Blog and you start to realize that there are a virtual myriad of new, possible features that could be coming to the iPhone 5. The list is staggering! For as much as we would like to see most of these features end up on the iPhone 5, that simply won't be the case: as the saying goes, you can please some of the people some of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but never all of the people all of the time.

Besides, Steve Jobs and Apple will have to hold some of these goodies back to make the iPhone 6 something to get excited about.

But because news sites and blogs tend to report on rumored features for the iPhone 5 as they pop up, you rarely get anything more than a "roundup" of the hottest iPhone 5 topics. What we've done here is listed everything that we've heard about for the iPhone 5, and give our take on both the coolness factor (how much of a "wow" it will cause at the iPhone 5′s announcement) and the probability factor that a feature will end up on the iPhone 5.

Be sure to check out our new page on all of the rumored iPhone 5 Features, and be sure to let us know if we missed anything!