Every year we see some leaked images for the upcoming iPhone ““ and this year is no different. While there was no phone lost in a bar this year, the leaks from component manufacturers means we have a pretty good idea of what to expect already. In fact, so many components have been leaked that some intrepid folks have already built an iPhone 5 from the combined leaked parts. While it does not boot up all the way, it shows that the leaks might very well be the very thing that we see later tonight.
So what can we expect to see later today?
Body
The leaked images seem to suggest a two tone body design, which will use some form of unibody construction. This time around the rear will not be covered in glass ““ instead the back is made from the same steel as the antenna frame. There will be glass (or plastic) panels on the top and bottom, which will let wireless signals pass through. Apple has learned its lesson from antennagate with the iPhone 4, so expect some extra attention from them on how this is in fact a great antenna design. Most importantly, it means no more cracked rear panels. One issue with the unibody design however is that repairs might be more difficult, because the rear panel might possibly not be easy to remove.
Screen
If you have been watching the smartphone race, you would have noticed every other smartphone manufacturer getting bigger and bigger screens with every generation. The iPhone has not changed its screen size in 5 generations, but did get a massive upgrade with the iPhone 4‘s retina display.
While Samsung‘s Galaxy S3 is currently rocking a 4.8 inch screen, it is not the most comfortable phone to use in one hand. And this is something that most smartphone manufacturers do not seem to get ““ the width of these displays basically forces you to use the phone two handed. Apple will be sticking to the same screen width as with every iPhone, meaning you can still easily touch every corner of the screen with your thumb. Smart move.
The new display will only be a slightly taller 4 inch screen (up from 3.7), moving to a 16:9 aspect ratio. Expect the resolution to stick to Retina levels, with it increasing to 1164×640 (up from 960×640 on the current iPhone 4 and 4S). This means older apps will render fine, with some black bars on the top and bottom. Expect Apple to also show how “easy” it is for App developers to write for the new resolution / aspect ratio.
The other big news is that the display will be built on Sharp‘s IGZO technology which builds the touch panel right into the LCD panel. It also uses a new manufacturing method that allows more light to shine through the panel from the LED‘s which means less intensive panels are needed and leads to better battery life. The panel is also thinner, which means the phone will be thinner.
NFC
NFC has not really taken off, despite dreams of us replacing all our cards with just our phones. Retailers are slow to adopt it at payment points, and banks are still waiting to see who will be the dominant players to support in the space. Passbook will be great when combined ““ we should first see a more hands on demo of Passbook. Personally we are not getting our hopes up for NFC, but here’s hoping we are surprised.
New Dock connector
Apple‘s current 30pin iPod Dock connector has had a good run. Available since the second iPod, it has been around for quite some time, and has quickly made its way to a lot of music systems, car kits, and dock chargers. If your phone is out of battery you should not have to look around too hard to find a 30 pin connector somewhere around you.
But the 30pin had some issues ““ it only connects in one orientation, and frankly, its becoming too big. Just take a look at the iPod Nano to see why.
The new 9 pin adaptor looks like it should work any way round, and it is a lot smaller. The bigger issue is the question of what will happen to all your Apple compatible gadgets that use the 30 pin adaptor? Leaks suggest that Apple will sell 30 pin to 9 pin adaptors in packs of three for $30, although no images have leaked. Expect them to sell out quickly.
The new 9pin adaptor might potentially support USB 3, now that the latest Macs are starting to support it as well. Expect faster iTunes syncs, and potentially faster battery charges.
Headphones
Some sources suggest new Apple headphones. We do not believe it. Once again, we want to be surprised. The current Apple pack-ins have been terrible for way to long.
LTE networking
A lot of rumours suggest that the new iPhone will support LTE networking. Apple already has LTE in the iPad third generation, so they do have some experience with LTE in iOS devices. The bigger issue is that of battery life ““ LTE gobbles up battery life quite a lot faster. The leaked battery is not a lot bigger than the iPhone 4S ““ and unless Apple has some magic that makes LTE a lot more power efficient, we are not getting our hopes up.
While the iPhone 5 might support LTE, South Africa still has no love for the new standard.
Storage
Seems like Apple is sticking to the current 16/32/64GB storage options for now.
Software
iOS6: iOS6 was announced at WWDC 2012, and we are already pretty familiar with it (and @saulkza is not impressed so far). We know what is coming , and the great news is that users of older phones (iPhone 3GS and up) should get most of the features.
Siri also gets an upgrade in iOS6 ““ but after using iOS6 for the last few months, we do not find Siri any better. While great for occasional use in the car, it still suffers from poor recognition and network delays. Hopefully Apple will offer some new Siri functionality.
Other Surprises
Typical of Apple ““ they will show something new in iOS6 that will only be supported on the new iPhone. That is just the way they work ““ and the very thing we consumers act upon.
That is about all we can say about the new iPhone right now ““ what are you hoping for?
