We’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about the upcoming iPhone. Many questions have been thrown around like will it be called the iPhone 5 or the 4S, will it have near-field communication technology, will it be 4G, and will it be available on other carriers? Two research firms have come out with their take […]
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See that up there? That could be your next iPhone — or it could be a tear-shaped dream. It’s a mock-up of what is said to be the iPhone 5, according to anonymous sources quoted by Joshua Topolsky. A continuation of the concepts laid out in our post-CES look at what’s next for Apple, the design here is said to be thin, metal-backed, tapered, and sporting a 3.7-inch display with the same 960 x 640 resolution in the iPhone 4’s retina display — resulting in a slight drop from that phone’s vaunted 326ppi density. The home button is quite obviously enlarged, possibly adding some thumbable gestures into the mix. Internals are said to include a “swipable” area, possibly meaning NFC, along with a Qualcomm Gobi chipset with support for CDMA and GSM, so this could be the one phone to rule all the carriers. Or, it might wind up only ever having domain over a single .PSD file. To us, well, it looks a little too thin to be packing all that and a bag of antennas as suggested and, with all the weight at the top, we can see these things flying out of hands left and right. But, we’re certainly willing to be surprised. Place your bets in comments below.
Update: The source has been updated with a note indicating that the bevel may be “a little exaggerated” in the above mock-up and that the back may not be metal after all.
Could the iPhone 5 look like a beveled iPod touch? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
We’re guessing it wasn’t on the company’s agenda for its earnings call earlier today, but Verizon CFO Fran Shammo let slip one other interesting iPhone tidbit in addition to its news of 2.2 million iPhone 4 activations. Here’s what he said:
The fluctuation, I believe, will come when a new device from Apple is launched, whenever that may be, and that we will be, on the first time, on equal footing with our competitors on a new phone hitting the market, which will also be a global device.
That pretty clearly suggests that the next iPhone — supposedly coming in September — will be a world phone, which just so happens to coincide with rumors to same effect we’ve heard as recently as this week. Of course, there’s been talk of a dual-mode GSM / CDMA iPhone even before that, considering that the Qualcomm baseband chip used in the Verizon iPhone is technically capable of supporting both CDMA and GSM networks — Apple simply chose not to or wasn’t able to take advantage of that particular functionality at the time.
Verizon CFO suggests next iPhone will be a ‘global device’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple's iPhone 4 was released summer of 2010. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
The usual blabbermouths in Asia — component suppliers — claim that Apple’s next iPhone will begin shipping in September.
Multiple sources “with direct knowledge of the company’s supply chain” told Reuters that the iPhone 5 will look very similar to the iPhone 4, which suggests most changes will be internal.
Likely “under-the-hood” changes include the faster A5 processor currently powering the iPad 2, as well as an 8-megapixel camera sensor designed by Sony.
Sony CEO Howard Stringer previously mentioned in a report that its best sensor technology is built in a Japanese factory affected by a tsunami, and as a result, getting image sensors to Apple will be delayed.
A September launch would make sense, because that timing would coincide with Apple’s annual iPod event held that month. Apple could easily fold an iPhone introduction into that event.
Apple has traditionally launched new iPhones at the Worldwide Developer Conference held each summer, but an earlier report claimed that the iPhone 5 would not be announced this June.
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Ok, so you won’t be getting an iPhone refresh this summer. But according to a trio of sources speaking to Reuters, the next-generation iPhone should be shipping in September — as we’ve heard before — with production starting in July. One source said that the iPhone will feature a faster processor, naturally, and look largely similar to the iPhone 4. If true then prepare to see it unveiled at Apple’s fall event, usually held in early September.
Next-generation iPhone coming in September? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
To date, we’ve heard scant few details about the next-generation iPhone, except for a rumor that it may or may not have a bigger screen, and that it almost certainly won’t pack an NFC chip. Now, one analyst is reporting the design will remain unchanged, though its innards will get a slight boost. Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities (who has been dead-on in the past) talked with sources in Apple’s supply chain to learn that the iPhone 5 will boast the same A5 processor as the iPad 2, along with an 8 megapixel rear camera, improved antenna design, and that Qualcomm baseband for both GSM and CDMA models we’ve seen bandied about (technically, the one in the current Verizon version is already GSM-capable). His sources also claim that Apple will begin mass production of its next-gen phone in September, which aligns with what we already heard about Apple moving to a fall launch — and because of the ongoing disaster in Japan, the company might not have sufficient supplies to launch a new iPod touch at the same time. Typically we take many Apple rumors with a grain of salt, but these tidbits all sound plausible. And given that Kuo has been right before, we’re especially inclined to believe him — even if the truth is more ho-hum than magical.
iPhone 5 to have 8 megapixel camera and improved antenna, same old design? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 12:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We were tempted to call it an April Fools’ joke, but it seems the story’s true: Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer reportedly let slip that his company is producing cameras for the next batch of iPhones and iPads during a public interview with the Wall Street Journal. Traditionally, Apple’s sourced its sensors from OmniVision, including the delightfully backside-illuminated 5 megapixel CMOS unit you’ll find in the iPhone 4, but since Sony too has BSI tech and OmniVision has reportedly encountered delays, your next portable Apple product might house a Sony Exmor R sensor like the one we admired on the Xperia Arc. Mind you, that may not end up actually happening, because of the context in which Sir Howard revealed the news — according to 9 to 5 Mac, he said that the factory producing sensors for Apple was affected by the Japanese tsunami. Oh well.
Sony CEO casually mentions he’s supplying cameras to Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 14:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Before the Gadget Lab crew dives into this week’s tech news, we raise our phones to celebrate the removal of Twitter’s god-awful QuickBar — that annoying black bar that appears at the top of your Twitter feed to show advertising and trending topics.
It was so putrid that people called it the “DickBar.” Fortunately, Twitter took the feedback to heart and abolished the QuickBar in its latest software update.
In other news, some customers have found that their brand-new “4G-capable” phones (such as the Motorola Atrix and the HTC Inspire) aren’t actually uploading data at 4G speeds. In fact, some of their speeds are even slower than existing 3G phones. The problem? AT&T just hasn’t flipped the switch yet to enable 4G speeds on these phones. Talk about lame.
We’re disappointed that there likely won’t be an iPhone 5 from Apple this summer, even though we’ve gotten a new iPhone every summer for the past four years. We’re guessing it’s because the white iPhone 4 still hasn’t shipped due to production problems, and Apple wants to give that model some shelf life before introducing an iPhone 5. Plus, a Verizon iPhone only just came out recently.
On the Android front, Amazon opened an Android Appstore last week, and many people probably don’t realize the security risks involved in shopping in Amazon’s store. Getting apps from a third-party app store such as Amazon’s requires checking off an option to enable installations from unknown sources, which can subject you to harmful malware, just like a Windows PC browsing the web.
Already this week, we’ve seen a trojan horse appear inside third-party app stores threatening to infect Android phones allowing installations from unknown sources.
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Gadget Lab audio podcast No. 110
http://downloads.wired.com/podcasts/assets/gadgetlabaudio/GadgetLabAudio0110.mp3
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