Nobody who hasn’t made a blood oath of secrecy really knows what the next iPhone will be. Heck, Apple may not even know exactly what features it will have yet. Barring any drunken mishaps, we won’t know about it until Tim Cook takes the stage sometime this summer or (more likely) fall. Considering that we’re still a couple of months away from the iPad 3 announcement, it’s a bit early to be concerned with the next iPhone, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from shifting into high gear.
We’ve compiled a convenient summary of some of the iPhone 5 features that we could ultimately see, based on the rumors that are floating about. The features that landed in each category aren’t even remotely definitive, but there are conflicting rumors so choices had to be made. In the name of fun, however, let’s bust out our crystal balls and take a look at the iPhone 5 features that we might enjoy a year from now.
Display size
This is a popular subject for rumors and one feature that could go either way. On the one hand, high-end Android phones have been super-sized for a couple of years now, and many of them have been popular with customers. On the other, Apple has stuck with its 3.5-inch display from the get-go, and has publicly dismissed claims that larger smartphone screens are better.
If Apple does put a larger display on the iPhone 5, it would be shocking to see it grow to as big as 4.3 inches. Rumors and speculation have been about split on this one. For the sake of building this fantasy iPhone, let’s go with four inches. The important point is the use of a larger display without a major change in the size of the device.
Display resolution
If Apple issues another 3.5-inch display, then this one is easy: it will retain the same 960×640 resolution. Trying to double the resolution of the current Retina Display would be overkill and not remotely cost efficient.
If the screen gets blown up, though, it will be interesting to see what Apple does. It would be easier on developers to keep the same 960×640 resolution, but this would lower the pixel density from the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.
There haven’t been many leaks or rumors about this, so let’s say that Apple bumps up the resolution up a little bit, to 1080×720. At four inches, that would give it a pixel density of 325, only slightly lower than the 330 of the iPhone 4/4S, plus it would maintain the aspect ratio that the iPhone has always used.
Thickness
This one is easy: if the iPhone 5 isn’t thinner than the iPhone 4/4S, I’ll buy stock in RIM. High-end Android handsets like the Droid Razr and (to a lesser degree) the Galaxy Nexus are already thinner than the iPhone. I can’t see the company that made the MacBook Air going another generation without putting out a ridiculously thin iPhone.
For the sake of having a solid figure for our fantasy concept, let’s say that it will be 7mm thick, a hair thinner than the original Droid Razr.
Home button
Why even ask about the home button, when it’s been virtually identical on every single iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch that has ever been made? There have been several rumors that Apple will switch it up for the next iPhone.
Previous leaks have suggested that Apple will implement a wider home button that doubles as a trackpad for gestures. Other rumors have said that Apple will drop a physical button altogether, and go with an Ice Cream Sandwich-like on-screen button.
For this conceptual version that we’re visualizing, we’ve gone with a capacitive home button. The smart money would probably be on the home button staying the same, but we’ve seen enough rumors that it’s worth integrating the change (whether it’s likely or not).
Wireless Data
Will the next iPhone have 4G LTE? It sounds like a distinct possibility, but there are a couple of concerns. Apple adding LTE would probably depend on having battery life that is at least on par with the iPhone 4S and making it thinner than the iPhone 4/4S.
With Android phones having had 4G for nearly two years, Apple will start to look ancient if it doesn’t add LTE to the iPhone 5. For that reason, let’s say that the iPhone 5 will be an LTE handset on Verizon, AT&T, and even Sprint’s upcoming LTE network.
Processor
This one is a no-brainer. Unless Apple completely swims against the current of its recent history, the iPhone 5 will have an Apple (made by Samsung) A6 system-on-a-chip.
The only questions are how many cores it will have (it could be quad-core, but it could also be a more efficient dual-core chip), and where will it be clocked? 1GHz sounds like a good bet.
Materials
This is yet another category that could go in several different directions. The iPhone 4/4S design is made of glass, the iPhone 3G/3GS had plastic backs, and the original iPhone had an aluminum backing. Apple could potentially use any of these materials in the iPhone 5.
As you can see above, I like the idea of a return to aluminum. It would unite the iPhone with the iPod touch and iPad, and it would be a throwback to the O.G. iPhone from five years ago. The aluminum would add some weight to the iPhone 5, but that could be balanced out by a thinner overall design.
iPhone 5
If you took all of these ideas, put them into a machine, and watched it spit out the final product, this is what the iPhone 5 might look like, based on the wonderful array of rumors we’ve all read.
Will the actual iPhone 5 look different from this? Probably. But one thing most rumors agree on is that Apple’s next handset will offer a new design — possibly a major one. This fantasy iPhone 5 concept presents just one possible direction.
Surprises
Speculation is fun, but part of Apple’s intrigue is that it keeps us guessing. Steve Jobs’s “one more thing” encores at his keynotes were famous because they brought out our child-like sense of anticipation and surprise.
We can all predict until we’re blue in the face, but only a select few people know what Apple has in store. A much-improved Siri? An Apple console gaming platform for iOS? A magsafe connector? Whatever it is, here’s to hoping that there’s something left to surprise us when Tim Cook reveals the features of the iPhone 5.
0 comments:
Post a Comment