Apple invitation all but confirms next week’s iPhone 5 announcement

(Note the ‘5’ shadow on the image. Do you think it’ll be called the iPhone 5? My money’s on: ‘The new iPhone’)

After months of speculation, countless hardware leaks and more rumours than you can shake a stick at, Apple finally released an invitation to their next iPhone announcement. On September 12th, at the the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Apple will take the wraps off their latest and greatest smartphone.

From a hardware standpoint, there have been enough components leaked over the last few months for the community to build a comprehensive spec sheet for the new iPhone without ever seeing a fully constructed genuine device. Ironically, more information about the device has been obtained through small sporadic component leaks, than when the working iPhone 4 prototype was found on a bar stool 2 years ago, misplaced by a clumsy Apple employee.

The new iPhone is expected to sport a taller, 4 inch display, with an improved multi-touch sensor fused with the display panel itself, while still retaining roughly the same design as the current model. It is expected to be thinner than previous models, only slightly protruding from the front of it’s surrounding metal frame/antenna. Unlike the iPhone 4 and 4S, which both protrude from the front and rear of their metal frames in equal quantities.

The rear glass panel will disappear and be merged into the main frame of the phone, to create a more rigid metal unibody case design, complete with smaller glass ‘windows’ at the top and bottom so as not to impede wireless signal strength.

The physical buttons will remain largely the same, but the headphone jack will be moved to the bottom of the iPhone, alongside a new, smaller, dock connector.

Of course, none of the parts corroborating this design have been confirmed by Apple to be authentic, but there is little doubt about what to expect next week. What people are more excited about is what announcements Apple will have that we don’t know about.

Will we see near field communication (NFC) built into the device? Will this be the first LTE equipped iPhone? Will it sport a next generation of Apple A6 processor and more RAM to help power that larger screen? The fact the the latest iPad supports LTE means that it is almost certainly coming to the new iPhone, but the rest of the specs are anyone’s guess.

One thing’s for sure, it will definitely be running iOS 6, Apple’s next generation mobile operating system, and this is where most of the new iPhone’s surprises will likely be hiding.

It’s clear that many consumers are holding off from buying their next phone in anticipation for Apple’s new iPhone. The device is so popular these days that everyone seems to be aware of Apple’s annual product release cycle. It’s not just tech geeks and journalists paying attention to rumours nowadays.

Will you be buying, switching, or upgrading to the new iPhone this September? Are you waiting for the next flagship Android phone instead?, or are you quite happy with a basic handset that simply makes calls and receives texts? Let us know in the comments below…

Read here about: War of the smartphones: Apple tee up iPhone 5 announcement as Nokia and Microsoft event begins

Recent Posts on Science & Technology

• 'Zero Dark 24': Is animal testing really necessary?
• Twitter launches Vine - a six second video sharing service, but is that really long enough?
• Bytesize Blog: Review of Blazewear heated gloves
• Video: Five tributes to Pong
• Social selling is the creepiest retail technology invention of all

• snickerboy38

  What on earth is this ‘article’? It is nothing other than an ad for Apple – It is only telling us that there will be a launch next week coupled with speculation about what the new phone may or may not have – it isn’t news of any sort whatsoever. Just how much do they pay you for this – its relentless, one sided and treats the readers like idiots.

• stonedwolf

  Yeah, I’ve seen sales and marketing divisions make those claims of need.
  I’m won’t say they’re not necessary in your business case, though isn’t it fortunate your living in this time period because less than ten years ago your company couldn’t function.

• stonedwolf

  You had me until “stakeholders”.

• brandysnap

  Excuse me, but I disagree with your comment entirely. I found this article very interesting and it explained things clearly to me, summing up all the rumours into a nice easy to read article. After looking through your previous comments you only seem to post in a negative light…

  I didn’t know anything about these different rumours and leaks, this explained them clearly to me, does that make me and idiot? No. Seems the author is doing a good job, despite commenters like you who giving the rest of us a bad name.

  You are you commenting on a speculative article and complaining because it is speculative. You are moaning that it is one sided, but it is about an Apple event at the end of the day, what else would this article be about? Your rant makes no sense.

• http://www.facebook.com/scottxdavis Scott Davis

  my company has gone over to smart phones because of the ease of communication, including email, conference calling, and many other features. This company has been around for over 20 years, and the industry well over 100 hundred. Certainly the company would make it without a smart phone but the benefits of what they provide have made information travel quicker and easier. Of course I can’t say that it makes my job easier, I would like to go back to the days when there weren’t cell phones. From a companies stand point I can see why they use them.

• http://www.facebook.com/scottxdavis Scott Davis

  spoken like a true fandroid, buy the copy and try to downgrade the original. LOL

• stonedwolf

  Fair enough.

  My point/fear is, as a technology developer myself, what iteration of phones first delivered the core business functionality you describe? That’s the angle I’m coming from. I’m not a Luddite (except in the true and rarely-appreciated sense of self-determination, liberation and empowerment through technology) but like your original posts hints at the release cycle is vastly outpacing rational demand.

• chadwic

  Hope the new iphone is on Verizon’s 4G network!!! Having the 4S on the 3G is sooooo slow!!! Really hoping for increase in speed with new iphone

• MancunianPsycho

  Do you think that all smartphones are copies of iPhones? Hahahahahahaha.

  You’re a victim of consumerism. A victim. Hardly a ‘fandroid’ but I can see Apple for what they are.

  What is the next brand spanking new development on the iPhone after 10 year old video calling? 2mm thinner and a slightly bigger screen…that’s £400 please.

• guamjeff

  I’ll be buying anything but Apple. They are bullies. I have owned only one apple product that I am aware of, an Ipod given to me as a Christmas gift. Any company that claims that rounded corners on a rectangular cell phone is a breach of copyright reveals themselves as bullies and the system corrupted.