Apple News, Analysis and Podcasts

Among the myriad of iPhone 5 mock-ups and spy-shots seen floating around the internet, coupled with a nearly daily dose of DigiTimes reports of component purchases here and there, when we boil it all down what are we left with? What kind of hardware will the iPhone 5 most likely sport?

We've dug, sifted and dug some more. The results are what we believe to be the most likely hardware configuration of the iPhone 5. But first, let's get one piece of this puzzle out of the way. Will their continue to be two iPhones in the line-up? If so, what will the iPhone 4S, some have called it, also look like?

Apple has been very successful in selling the iPhone 3GS as the low-hanging-fruit product starting at $49 with a two year contract. At the same time the iPhone 4 continues to dominate across carriers, as Apple produces both CDMA and GSM iPhone 4 products. There is every incentive for Apple to continue this business model; however, the current iPhone 4 was designed with a heafty subsidie in mind.

The result is the new, lower-end iPhone 4S is likely to see a revised plastic-like backing, and one additional feature boost — such as slighly longer battery life. We also don't expect the iPhone 4S naming convention to be what hits the market. The "S" came from the iPhone 3G updated model. The S stood for speed, as the iPhone 3GS was truly a big speed improvement product over the 3G. With the revised lower-cost iPhone 4, we don't see any speed improvements coming, so expect a name along the lines of iPhone 4+ (plus) or something similar.

iPhone 5 delivers a largely revised approach

World Phone Technology: Expect the iPhone 5 to carry the ability to be a CDMA, GSM (HSPA+), but don't expect the iPhone 5 to have integrated LTE (true GSM 3GPP), built-in. But the phone will be tempting to buy outright, due to the ability to move to virtually any US carrier with relatively cheap pre-paid plans.

• 3.7" screen: The iPhone has never seen a dimensional change beyond it's 3.5" size since the original was launched in 2007. This is a major departure for the iPhone.
• 8 Megapixel Camera: If you haven't seen this image yet, it's worth a look. The CMOS sensor is likely to be backlit, delivering quality image capture in poorly lit conditions.
• Improved 8 Megapical camera LED Flash: This may seem trivial, but if you have an iPhone 4, you've experience the poor image quality that is often produced.
• A5 Dual-Core Processor: Whether the chip is tweaked from it's iPad 3 cousin, it makes no difference. The processor will mark another major leap in speed for the iPhone.
• Updated Graphics: The Imagination Technologies graphics processor should see a huge boost in power within the SOC (System-On-a-Chip) design. Gaming will take another leap, with performance rivaling – or surpassing – the current crop of aging set-top-box gaming consoles. What will this mean for Apple TV?
• Improved Antenna Design: Despite Consumer Reports manufactured “Antennagate”, the iPhone 4 had a better antenna design than that previous iPhone models. Based on a plethora of rumors, expect the iPhone 5 to have an even better design.
• Enhanced Battery: Recent rumors have surfaced that Apple is working hard with their battery partner to produce a market-leading design. Expect at least a 10% boost in overall life of the iPhone 5 vs iPhone 4.
• Slimmer Design: Again, Apple will push the envelope, delivering an overall slimmer design. Wedge? Not likely, but don't count it out either.

And all this goodness is just the hardware design. Considering iCloud and iOS 5 coming along side the iPhone 5 and 4+ launch, don't think for a moment the lines won't once again stretch around buildings for a few days. Making the demand even higher is the fact that Apple didn't launch during its traditional June timeframe, giving those in contracts more time to expire. Expect the one-two punch of iPhone 5 and 4+ to dominate, not only in the U.S., but world wide.

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