It has only been 10 months since the official launch of the iPhone 4 and yet millions of potential buyers are trying to get their hands on one. So isn’t it too early to release another iPhone, Apple?
Why so soon?
The smartphone market is quite competitive and now with Android and Windows Mobiles improving almost on a daily basis, Apple have found themselves surrounded by tough competition. In order to maintain market share and even stand out from their competition, it leaves Apple no choice but to release a newer model of their iPhone line on a yearly basis.
A recent report suggests that Apple suppliers have already made plans to start manufacturing the next-generation iPhone, aka. iPhone 5. Can this report be trusted? Well, up to a certain point I guess and previous reports have also suggested that Apple would “delay” the release of the next model past the summer. Learning from the past, Apple has always released a new iPhone every summer since the launch of their first-generation iPhone back in 2007.
Specifications
With regards to the specifications of this new iPhone, it will allegedly boast a faster processor, probably the A5 which is currently featured in the iPad 2. A higher resolution 8-megapixel rear camera has been rumoured as well. The smartphone will include a Qualcomm baseband for both CDMA and GSM models and an improved antenna. We all remember the problems with the iPhone 4 antenna (calls hanging, etc.), don’t we?
Design
The home button on the iPhone 5 could be enlarged to be able to perform double duty as a “gesture area”. Various Sources suggest that Apple is doing very “interesting things” with bonded glass technology and could push the edges of the screen all the way out to the edge, moving the earpiece and sensors “behind the screen itself.”
Reports also claim that Apple might increase the iPhone 5’s screen size from its current 3.5-inch display to a 3.7-inch one. Nevertheless, the resolution will remain unchanged. However, this change in size would reduce the device’s pixel density but will still feature the “Retina Display” technology that Apple has successfully developed and used in it’s predecessor, the iPhone 4 and both iPad and iPad 2 models.
Throughout my extensive, I came across a very interesting source that claimed that this new model would feature a new design. This new design apparently looks more like an iPod Touch, thinner and lighter than a previous iPhone model. It could also boast a “teardrop” shape, which starts of thick at the top and gradually gets thinner as it gets to the bottom, basically, something along the lines of the MacBook Air profile.
Production
Despite the recent disruption in supply related to the Japan Earthquake in March, the iPhone 5 is scheduled to go into trial production sometime in August and expected to hit mass production in early September. If everything goes as planned, Apple will be able to ship out just about 30 million units for what’s left of this year.
Nevertheless, the earthquake and tsunami disaster have reportedly resulted in constrained supplies and basic/vital component shortages for Apple, which therefore means that they will be focusing on building the new iPhone 5 and plans for another iPod Touch might be halted or delayed for a later date.
So that’s all I’ve managed to find on the iPhone 5 up till now, folks. As always, watch out for more updates on www.oclue.com. The best way of making sure you don’t miss out on any important news is to subscribe to our RSS feeds.
