Rumors regarding the next iteration of the iPhone have been flying left and right. If you’ve been following the rumor mill, you know that there’s a lot of potential innovations to be implemented into Apple’s next iPhone.

Will Apple release several different iPhone models at once? Will the next iPhone be considerably smaller than its predecessors? Will Apple release the iPhone 5 on all carriers with a universal baseband?

These, among others, are all questions being asked about the next iPhone. Let’s examine the rumors and try and make sense of it all…

What’s Expected

What we do know, based on Apple’s product cycle, is that a new iPhone announcement should happen this summer. About a month ago, Digitimes released some interesting information regarding Apple’s supply chains. Digitimes reported that Apple was ramping up for iPhone 5 production, which would place Apple’s projected announcement date right around the normal time of the WWDC conference in June (possibly on June 5th).

Apple is planning on increasing the battery life of its next iPhone. A patent has surfaced revealing that Apple is planning on improving the iPhone’s battery life by increasing battery cell density. Every new iteration of the iPhone has had better battery life than the last, so this improvement is almost a given for the iPhone 5.

The next iPhone will most likely have Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. NFC is a relatively new breakthrough in mobile payment, and reports from the likes of Bloomberg claim that Apple will implement NFC into the iPhone 5.

NFC would primarily be used to let the iPhone interface with and make payments for physical products and ads through RFID technology. If you’ve ever used a mobile device to scan a bar code or a QR code, you should have a good grasp of how NFC works.

AppleInsider reports that Apple plans to implement NFC in a new and interesting way,

“White said that his sources have indicated to him that the next iPhone will include NFC technology. However, Apple’s approach will reportedly have “a twist that will make it unique versus his peers.” White did not give any indication as to what the “twist” could be.”

Apple will reportedly make its cloud-based service, MobileMe, free with the release of the next iPhone. MobileMe has always been overpriced and lacking in key functionality when compared to other free web services like Google.

Rumors say that Apple is bringing significant updates to MobileMe. Along with the remarkably reduced price tag, speculation says that MobileMe will become a much more integrated part of the iOS experience in the near future. A streaming iTunes media service could also work in tandem with an updated MobileMe. If the next iPhone is indeed mostly cloud-based, these MobileMe rumors make sense.

A Possibility

Apple could release a smaller iPhone dubbed the “iPhone Nano.” This miniature iPhone would probably be sold unsubsidized (no $200 hardware fee) and depend on internet streaming for content.

The Wall Street Journal has also reported that the iPhone Nano will posses an “edge-to-edge” screen and have voice navigation. A cheaper iPhone Nano could have the potential to increase Apple’s smartphone revenue by over 250% and saturate the market with cheap iPhones on different carriers.

It is worth noting that there have been conflicting reports about the iPhone Nano. The New York Times claims that the iPhone Nano will not be any smaller than the iPhone 4, but that it will be cheaper. The NY Times also corroborated the report that Apple will make MobileMe free.

We shall see what happens.

The next iPhone could have a larger 4 inch display. Digitimes has claimed that Apple will increase the iPhone’s display size to compete with current Android handsets that all boast 4 inch screens.

While Apple has never really been one to feel the pressure of competition, a slightly larger screen on the next iPhone wouldn’t be a stretch. This idea also compliments the rumor that the next iPhone will not have a home button. (Don’t worry, we’ll get there.)

An iPhone with a slideout keyboard? Hey, it could happen.

While the idea of an iPhone with a slideout keyboard does seem unlike Apple, it’s entirely possibly that the (or “a”) next iPhone could have a slideout keyboard. A Taiwanese site called tw.Apple.pro claims that Apple will implement a slideout keyboard in the iPhone 5. We’ll see if this rumor ever comes true.

The next iPhone could have no home button. Boy Genius claims that Apple will replace the home button’s functionality with new multitouch gestures.

A home buttonless iPhone would definitely be a drastic design change. It’s unknown as to how this would effect the jailbreak process (it’s kind of hard to put an iPhone in DFU mode without a home button), but I guess we’ll find out this summer.

The iPhone 5 could have a universal baseband and sport a dual core CPU. Apparently, the Verizon iPhone actually has a universal Qualcomm chip, but Apple has it disabled. It makes sense that Apple would introduce an iPhone 5 “world phone” with the ability to run on any carrier.

A dual core CPU also makes sense for the internals of the next iPhone. Apple always improves performance with each new iteration, and the ARM Cortex A9 processor seems like the next logical step for the iPhone 5.

Far Fetched

An interesting patent suggests that Apple may eventually plan on using its Magsafe connector for power and data transfers on iOS devices. Apple’s MacBooks use Magsafe for power, but Apple wants to have Magsafe replace its USB connector for iPods and iOS devices.

If Apple can successfully achieve power and data through Magsafe, it’s assumable that Magsafe will become the standard connector for all Apple mobile devices in the future. We probably won’t see Magsafe on the iPhone this year, but I’m sure Apple has it on the distant horizon.

LTE has been a question on the iPhone since the technology’s introduction in the mobile space. Apple is definitely working on implementing LTE into the iPhone, but not for the near future. In fact, Apple only recently posted the job listing for an LTE specialist.

While we won’t be seeing LTE in the iPhone 5, Apple will most likely introduce LTE in the generation after this year’s cycle. Apple has never been a company that quickly adopts new technologies, and LTE is no exception to that rule.

Conclusion
We could possibly see three different iPhone models released this summer, or Apple could stick with its track record and release one device. Most likely the iPhone 5 will have improved performance and battery life, NFC technology, and some sort of display size change. MobileMe will be apart of the next iPhone announcement, and the biggest design change could be the lack of a home button.

Hopefully this article helped you sort through all of the speculation on the iPhone 5.

Now that you’re familiar with the rumors- What do you expect out of Apple’s next iPhone? What would you like to see? A larger screen? Better camera? I’d just like to be able to buy one in white.

click here to Test & Keep the iphone 5 Before everybody else!.

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Pegatron Technology has landed orders for 10 million units of iPhone 5 to become the second ODM of the smartphone. Shipments will start in September, according to industry sources.

The most recent rumors have suggested that Apple will not be launching the iPhone 5 until October, though they will presumably have to start ramping production prior to that date.

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If rumor mill-chatter isn’t your cup of tea, you might want to move on to the next posting. There’s no doubt that the anticipation for upcoming Apple products has grown to an epically-annoying level.

However, for folks interested in Apple’s next tablet, an interesting report surfaced yesterday that might peak your interest. BGR details an article from Taiwan Economic News, which makes some intriguing claims about the future of Apple’s tablet…(…)
Read the rest of Report Claims iPad 2 Price Drop, iPad 3 Prices Similar to Previous Model

“Report Claims iPad 2 Price Drop, iPad 3 Prices Similar to Previous Model” is an article by iDownloadBlog.com. Make sure to follow us on Twitter and friend us on Facebook.

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The China Times pinpoints the iPhone 5 release to the second week of September with an initial order of 4 million units. Suppliers are said to be currently preparing 400,000 trial run units. The news report also reports that the next iPad may be delayed until Thanksgiving due to component shortages.

There’s been some debate about what features the iPhone 5 will include. Recently leaked case designs have shown some major design changes, while other sources have said the iPhone 5 will look largely like the iPhone 4.

The China Times has had a hit or miss record with Apple-related rumors, though they do seem close to Apple’s suppliers in China and may certainly have knowledge of their production plans. Reuters had previously also reported the iPhone 5 would see a September release with production beginning in July.

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The introduction of the iPhone on Verizon contributed a healthy number of iPhone sales, but it was nothing compared to what non-US carriers delivered for Apple.

Horace Dediu at Asymco put together a few charts to illustrate just how big the non-US sales were:

The yellow line indicates Verizon’s 4.5 million iPhone users, while the green line shows AT&T’s slight slowdown in sales as the iPhone 4 matured (though even that doesn’t show a very steep drop off).

By far the biggest impact is the sales by the rest of the world — so big was that growth, Dediu points out, that “had Verizon not come on board the business would still have grown year-on-year over 100% (and sequentially).”

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TechCrunch noted that Qualcomm had recently released their Augmented Reality Software Development Kit (SDK) for iOS. The SDK had originally been available for Android but Qualcomm had promised its release in July for iOS. The SDK should make it easier for developers to integrate virtual content with real content such as images captured by cameras found on many portable devices.

Augmented reality applications are nothing new for iOS, with Apple having introduced support for the technology in iPhone OS 3.1 nearly two years ago and a number of applications such as Layar Reality Browser and Word Lens having embraced it, but Qualcomm’s tools will make for easier cross-platform adoption that could increase developer interest.

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Earlier this week, a purported case design for the iPhone 5 surfaced showing tapered edges more reminiscent of pre-iPhone 4 designs along with a possible larger screen and gesture area around the home button.

That schematic is not merely a random design drawing, however, as 9 to 5 Mac has received photos of an actual case apparently manufactured based on that design, which has reportedly been shopped around to manufacturers.

The new case does appear to portend a thinner design if it is indeed for the iPhone 5, but is unable to address claims of a larger screen or gesture area due a lack of covering on the front of the device. Placement of the physical features on the purported iPhone 5 appears nearly identical to the current iPhone, with the exception of what appears to a movement of the mute switch to the opposite side. This places the switch adjacent to the device’s rear camera on the right side of the device as viewed from the front, as opposed to above the volume buttons on the left side.

Accommodations for the power and volume buttons are indeed present on the purported iPhone 5 case, although difficult to see in the photos as the case utilizes only small nubs of silicone covering the buttons rather than holes allowing direct access to them. Notably, the volume controls appear more like the elongated buttons found on the current iPod touch than the round individual buttons of the iPhone 4, a change which would make sense with an iPod touch-like tapered design for the new iPhone.

This latest case design is not the first to be claimed to be for the iPhone 5, however, as cases suggesting a nearly identical design to the iPhone 4 appeared in March while others apparently showing the rear camera flash moved to the opposite side away from the camera lens itself showed up in May.

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Earlier this week, shopping comparison site PriceGrabber released the results of a survey of nearly 3,000 U.S. online consumers conducted earlier this month, revealing that 35% of respondents intend to purchase the next-generation iPhone. The strong consumer interest comes even as Apple has to yet announce or even acknowledge such a device and with rumors offering conflicting information on what users can expect from the next-generation iPhone.

Anticipation in the consumer electronics world is soaring for the launch of Apple’s iPhone 5, which is rumored to be hitting store shelves this fall. PriceGrabber, a part of Experian, just released the results of its iPhone 5 survey, revealing that 35 percent of consumers plan to purchase the latest iPhone upon its release. Of these respondents, 51 percent indicated that they will buy the smartphone within the first year of release, 30 percent will purchase it before the end of 2011, 14 percent will buy it within the first month, and 7 percent will buy it within the first week. Conducted from July 1-11, 2011, the survey includes responses from 2,852 U.S. online consumers.

Apple leads the smartphone pack among the surveyed customers, with 48% of respondents stating that they “prefer” iOS and Android coming in at a distant second place with 19%.

For the next-generation iPhone, consumers most frequently cited improved battery life as a key feature they’d like to see, with 59% of respondents selecting the option in the survey. Measuring in close behind at 56% was a lower price point. Other popular desired features include a larger screen and an improved camera.

Interestingly, 46% of respondents indicated that “4G” compatibility is an important feature for the next iPhone, even with a separate survey recently revealing that one-third of current iPhone users mistakenly think that they already have 4G compatibility. The “4G” marketing term has come to embrace both HSPA+ and LTE network standards, and while the next-generation iPhone is expected to feature HSPA+ compatibility, Apple has been said to be holding off on LTE compatibility until more appropriate chips are available.

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DigiTimes reports that Apple and Samsung are both “evaluating” the use of solar cells in future consumer products, with the process having advanced as far as discussions with several Taiwanese solar firms about the technology. Any such products are said to be some time off, however, with projects still in the research stage as vendors work toward increasing efficiency of energy conversion.

Samsung and Apple have been evaluating the possible niche market for solar-powered consumer products and considering the inclusion of Taiwan-based solar firms in their respective supply chains. However, according to Taiwan-based solar firms, these niche markets will need a longer time to develop.

Apple has expressed interest in solar power for a number of years, with a patent application published in 2008 discussing the possibility of placing solar cells underneath a mobile device’s screen. A more recent one discussed building solar cells into the external surface of an iPod-like device and integrating a power management system to balance battery and solar power generation to compensate for changes in light input due to environmental factors or certain panels being obscured by the user’s hand.

2008 Apple patent application drawing showing iPod with integrated solar cells

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As July winds down, Apple fans are most likely wishing to skip right over August and into September when the iPhone 5 is rumored to be released. Though we can’t fast-forward time, we can tell you some new information we’ve deduced from a possible iPhone 5 case leak. Case leaks, like all Apple rumors, are good [...]

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