The iPhone 5 News Blog

iPhone 5 enthusiasts are hearing more about Lytro camera technology. Will Apple equip the iPhone 5 with Lytro, or go with the new Sony camera sensor?

Steve Jobs played a critical role in evolving smartphone design to include high-quality digital cameras. He had a passion for photography, which is why early on he envisioned the iPhone becoming a serious camera — not just for taking snapshots — but also for taking amazing photos. It is for this reason that, when the story surfaced that Jobs met with the CEO of Lytro just months before his death, it may have been a hint that the iPhone 5 could somehow include Lytro camera technology.

So, what’s Lytro, you ask?

As you know, I’m not a very good geek, so I’ll give you the layman’s perspective on it: it is a camera sensor that takes in a great deal more visual data and light than even the most advanced camera sensors. By doing so, Lytro would empower iPhone users to make even their casual snapshots look like works of art. For example, if you take a picture with Lytro, it can give you the option of toggling focus in both the foreground and background objects.

With this kind of technology, it’s no wonder that analysts have imagined it being included on the iPhone 5. While Apple and Lytro never forged any kind of partnership or licensing agreement, Steve Jobs reportedly picked their brains over the technology, and was incredibly excited about its possibilities.

Now, this story is giving rise to Lytro iPhone 5 rumors. 9to5Mac has a very good article about Jobs’ vision for camera technology, in which they intimate how Lytro could fulfill his vision: “Jobs actively pursued his goal of reinventing photography, asking the CEO of Lytro to outline three specific things that the company would want to work on with Apple.”

In spite of Jobs loving Lytro, however, it is still more likely that the iPhone 5 will debut with the new Sony 8MP camera sensor we wrote about recently. While Lytro offers features not yet seen on even the most advanced smartphones, the iPhone 4S sensor actually has been resolution than what Lytro can offer. Moreover, the new Sony camera sensor has the one thing that the iPhone 5 will need: thinness. Lytro, on the other hand, is still a relatively bulky technology that isn’t at all suited to the ultra-thin trend that the iPhone 5 form factor seems to be moving toward.

With all of this being said, Lytro may be on the horizon. In a couple of years, Lytro could most definitely be refined down to a smaller package, and find itself on the likes of the iPhone 6.

By Michael Nace

An article from 9to5Mac today, purporting to be quoting a Foxconn staffer, indicates much of what the iPhone 5 News Blog reported on months ago: the next iPhone will be the “iPhone 5,” with a release date in June, a 4-inch display, and a thinner, non-teardrop form factor.

If you have continued to follow the rumors here on the iPhone 5 News Blog — even through this current lull in rumor-milling — you’ll note that since just after the release of the iPhone 4S, our own source was told from his sources in Asia that the iPhone 5 would be put back onto the June release schedule, sport a 4-inch screen, and its new form factor would be based on thinness, not a teardrop shape.

It appears that 9to5Mac’s own source is corroborating our own reports from months ago. Seth Weinthrab said today that “We’ve gotten word from a reliable source at Foxconn in China that the iPhone 5, as it is currently being called, is currently being geared for production,” and that the current prototypes floating around Foxconn feature a “4+ inch display (made by LG on at least one of them)” and “No teardrop-shaped devices as were rumored in the lead up to the iPhone 4S. Samples so far have been symmetrical in thickness. Also longer/wider.”

In addition, 9to5Mac also reports that “it would appear that Apple is back on its new iPhone launch for Summer/WWDC pattern that it maintained until last year.”

You will recall that the blog first reported on the new 2012 iPhone rumors back on November 4th, 2011, “Top Source Claims: iPhone 5 To Have ’4-inch Screen and Will Be Announced in June, 2012′″ Just as 9to5Mac notes that their own Asia source was right about the iPhone 4S being a refresh of the iPhone 4, so too was our own source. But their source made that claim on September 21st — our source made his claim on August 22nd.

While I have not doubted our source, there is no doubt that this new 9to5Mac rumor lends even more corroboration to the claims of a larger screen and June release date, and that the teardrop-shaped iPhone 5 form factor rumor was just goofy to begin with.

By Michael Nace

A thinner iPhone 5 will need thinner components as well. A new, thinner 8MP camera sensor from Sony might be the perfect match for this year’s thinner iPhone iteration.

Over the weekend, we talked about a new report that outlines an Apple patent for a thinner, shapeable rechargeable battery that could empower a thinner yet more powerful iPhone 5 form factor. Today, a new report highlighting Sony’s new, thinner 8MP camera sensor is yet another piece of evidence that Apple may have the hardware necessary to overhaul the iPhone form factor and make the iPhone 5 thinner.

According to 9to5Mac, Sony’s new CMOS image sensor is remarkably thinner than its predecessor: “the new design and manufacturing process behind Sony’s image sensor should help engineer a thinner iPhone due to less space used by the Sony chip. Additionally, the Japanese giant’s new manufacturing process is cheaper and image quality is better, which are both important feats from Apple’s standpoint. The camera module is said to be faster, consume less power and sport higher pixel numbers.”

The 9to5Mac article makes a good point: in order for smartphone designers to continue to make thinner form factors, camera modules need to get thinner as well. This new sensor from Sony would seem to be a perfect fit for a thinner iPhone 5. And considering that this story comes right on the heels of the thinner battery patent report. It will be interesting to see if more reports like these surface in the lead-up to the iPhone 5′s release, as reports of thinner hardware components will serve as reasonably corroborative pieces of evidence of a thinner form factor.

Another interesting tidbit regarding the new Sony camera sensor: not only is it thinner and more power efficient, but it may turn out to be a more powerful 8MP camera than what is currently featured on the iPhone 4S. 9to5Mac points out that: “In theory, the imaging circuitry being separate of the sensors could give Apple greater control over the camera system and help increase its functionality by leveraging the company’s in-house designed A-series chip. The dual-core A5 chip found inside iPhone 4S is already responsible for some image post-processing, such as video stabilization. Therefore, the design of the new Sony chip would let Apple’s silicon take over control of the camera and its performance in ways that were not possible before.”

Pretty cool, huh?

By Michael Nace

The prospect of a thinner iPhone 5 combined with LTE has made little sense for the iPhone 5, given its battery needs. But a new patent reveals that Apple may have developed a thinner, shapeable, and more powerful battery pack that could vastly improve the battery life of the upcoming iPad 3 and iPhone 5.

If all of the prominent iPhone 5 rumors come true, the 2012 iPhone 5 will no doubt live up to the landmark expectations set for it. A bigger screen, LTE, A6 processor, and thinner form factor — all of these would contribute to a new vision for the iPhone that could set a new mark for smartphone technology. Its inclusion of LTE alone could establish LTE as the new standard, as we argued in yesterday’s post.

But we’ve also made the point here on the Blog that a thinner form factor would not seem to jive with the rest of the prevailing iPhone 5 rumors. I wrote a piece about back on December 13, 2011 about how the battery issue would prohibit Apple from making the iPhone 5 thinner, unless they managed a new battery design. Then, on December 30th, we reported on the start of a fresh rumor that Cupertino had a new battery design in the works.

Today, we finally have a report that would make battery life and thinness a dual reality for the iPhone 5.

iDownloadBlog is reporting — thanks to the great work of Patently Apple, as usual — that Apple has a new patent that would allow for a thinner, shapeable battery pack that could be shaped around other components inside the device: “The patent itself allows for batteries to be made up of electrode sheets of varying dimensions. These sheets can then be arranged in a variety of shapes such as pyramids or L-shapes rather than the conventional rectangles. . . By changing the size and shape of battery cells Apple could potentially increase the amount of power held within the same area, making it possible for iOS devices and MacBooks to pack higher capacity batteries without the extra size and weight.”

If you recall, Apple did something similar early on with the iMac by embedding the AirPort antenna around the screen. They could use a similar approach on the iPad 3 and iPhone 5 with the battery.

This kind of innovation is exactly what Apple will need to achieve in order to bring a thin form factor to the LTE-powered iPhone 5. I’ve argued before that the rechargeable battery is the unsung hero of all successful mobile devices. I’ve also argued that the anemic battery life on the iPhone 4S makes it a somewhat problematic iPhone iteration. With a thinner yet powerful battery on the iPhone 5, we might finally get the dream iPhone we’ve all been waiting for.

By Michael Nace

For years now, 4G LTE has been heralded as the “next generation” of mobile community. Analysts now believe that the iPhone 5 will indeed be LTE, and its sales and popularity will make 4G LTE the new standard for smartphones.

We’ll know for sure in a couple of months once the iPad 3 is released, but it looks highly probable that 4G LTE is finally coming to the iPhone 5 this year. Last week, Bloomberg reported last week that the iPad 3 is now in production and will indeed feature LTE. And by extension, if the iPad 3 gets LTE, so too will this year’s iPhone.

You may recall that an interesting survey was conducted not long after the iPhone 4S was released that highlighted what iPhone users saw lacking in the 4S. We did a post about it that is worth taking a second look at. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the lack of a larger screen that irked iPhone enthusiasts, but rather the lack of LTE. In this way, it would appear that the mobile computing community is more or less ready for 4G LTE to become the new standard.

The U.S. mobile networks seems to agree: Verizon and Sprint have invested copious amounts of resources into getting their 4G LTE network infrastructure up to snuff, with the sense that 2012 is going to be the technology’s breakout year. AT&T has perhaps been a bit less high-profile with its own LTE investitures, but given the company’s product-leading persona, there is no doubt that all three of the big three iPhone carriers in the U.S. will be ready to go with a true 4G network, once the iPhone 5 is released.

Now all we need is for the iPhone 5 to be LTE.

And according to new reports, the popularity of the iPhone 5, together with it featuring LTE, will effectively put 4G LTE on the map as the new standard in mobile communications. According to Appleinsider, “LTE smartphones could represent as much as 5 percent of global shipments this year, reaching between 25 million and 30 million units. It noted that while LTE devices are currently a small portion of cell phone sales, that is expected to change in the second half of the year, when Apple is rumored to join the fray.”

In other words, once Apple rolls out an LTE iPhone 5 and sells heaps of millions of them, LTE is going to become an exponentially increasing slice of the smartphone pie.

It is true that Android has been first to market with LTE smartphones, as the analyst in the above-quoted article notes. But he also implied what we all know intuitively: that Apple and Apple alone is the brand that the tech world expects to roll out new technologies. When he says, “While Android (is) still dominating the LTE smartphone segment, Nokia and HTC have launched LTE Windows Phone models, and Apple and RIM are expected to release comparable models running on their own platforms in the second half of 2012,” he is intimating the obvious: the iPhone 5 will be the game-changer in LTE, just as the iPad mainstreamed the tablet PC and the original iPhone pioneered the smartphone as we now know it.

The iPhone 5 Could Make 3G Smartphones Seem Obsolete Very Quickly

The impact of an LTE iPhone 5 in the mobile computing marketplace could be dramatic, with the new iPhone creating a virtual “black hole” that will quickly swallow up the 3G market and make all such devices seem like legacy hardware. Just as 3G quickly became the standard for mobile technology, so too could 4G force all manufacturers to retool for 4G LTE. By 2013, 3G might be a thing of the past.

This could mean crushingly high sales for Apple and the iPhone 5, living up to the bold sales predictions for the iPhone 5 made last year.

We often assume that new iPhone iterations look to onboard users from two iterations back. For example, the perception is that 3G and 3GS users mostly bought the iPhone 4S, while iPhone 4 users were still content to stick with their model and await the iPhone 5. There is conflicting data on this theory. But whether or not it is true, an LTE iPhone 5 could onboard a broad swath of users into 4G LTE — even many of the folks who bought into the iPhone 4S in 2011.

It would not even surprise me if Apple and the U.S. carriers make concessions to allow 4S customers to upgrade to the iPhone 5, even if it is released before the contract minimums. We can assume, after all, that 4G LTE will bring with it new revenue streams for the mobile carriers, who would be more than happy to subsidize a new iPhone and expand their revenues horizontally and residually. In this way, all current iPhone users could be nudged into abandoning their 3G iPhones for the new LTE iPhone 5.

The iPhone 5S in 2013: Count On It

Finally, a prediction: a pattern is developing, and I think we’ll see not the iPhone 6, but rather an iPhone 5S in 2013. In addition to the 3G/3GS, 4/4S pattern, I think that Apple will use two iterations — the dramatically overhauled iPhone 5 LTE and a refreshed 5S — to completely do away with its 3G smartphones and give all of the iPhone users an opportunity to get on the iPhone 5 train. The 5S will most likely be like the 4S: improved processors and software upgrades, all of which will benefit from the faster LTE. But we very well might not be discussing an iPhone 6 until the middle of 2013, with a release date sometime in — wow! — 2014.

By Michael Nace

Since its inception, Apple has never radically altered the dimensions of the iPhone. Is Cupertino ready to inflate the iPhone 5 to accommodate a 4″ screen?

There is new fodder today on the news wire suggesting that a 4″ screen for the iPhone 5 is imminent, thanks to a fresh market report from a Wall Street analyst. According to Josh Schnell at Macgasm, “Susquehanna Financial Analyst Chris Caso has sent a note to his clients that the iPhone 5 will both head to production in June of 2012, and come with a larger 4 inch screen. His sources are not public, so we have no idea where he’s getting his information, so keep that one in mind.” Josh’s measured skepticism is well-placed, since it is difficult to determine if tech analysts are passing along insider information regarding the screen size of the iPhone 5, or otherwise just evangelizing what the tech community is hoping for.

As you will recall, the iPhone 5 News Blog‘s own inside source has confirmed that the iPhone 5 will indeed have a 4″ screen as well. And while our source correctly predicted the refreshed form factor of the iPhone 4S, it remains to be seen if his information is similar to that of Mr. Caso’s: wishful thinking, or actionable intelligence.

But it got me to thinking: last year, some pundits were imagining how Apple might be able to work out a slightly larger screen while keeping the overall dimensions of the iPhone in place. By utilizing an edge-to-edge screen, the iPhone in its current form could stretch to become a 3.7″ screen, versus the current 3.5″ dimension. It would seem that a .2″ difference isn’t much of a difference at all, practically speaking. But if you were to stand an iPhone 5 with a 3.7″ screen alongside an iPhone 4S with a 3.5″ screen, the difference would be palpable.

With this in mind, it dawned on me: Apple has never significantly changed the dimensions of the iPhone. Ever.

For example, the length of the iPhone 3G and 4S are both 4.5″. The width of both iterations are separated by only .09″ inches.

So, with this wish for a 4″+ display, we are in turn exhorting Cupertino to truly overhaul the form factor for the iPhone 5 — not simply by switching out glass for aluminum, or changing the bezel, or offering it in white, but by essentially “breaking the die” on what has become iconic dimensions for the iPhone. It wouldn’t seem like a big deal for Cupertino to manage, but it is: as seen above, the current specs of the iPhone 4/4S are remarkably similar than the original iPhone and the 3G. In this way, Apple has retained the overall length and width of the original iPhone.

There is a reason for this: Apple really likes the size and layout of the iPhone. Most likely, early iPhone engineers underwent a great deal of trial and error in choosing dimensions that were both ergonomic and practical, for the sake of managing heat, components, and other design elements. The same can be said for the screen size — Cupertino has been reluctant to reinvent the paradigm for screen size on the iPhone because there is obviously an optimal equilibrium struck by the engineers.

Furthermore, now that Android has far surpassed the iPhone with smartphone designs that feature way larger screen sizes, ranging from 4″ to the gargantuan 5.3″ Samsung Galaxy Note, Apple runs the risk of engineering a larger-screened iPhone 5 that, simply by virtue of its larger size, seems aesthetically reminiscent to an Android smartphone. Apple certainly doesn’t want that.

Mind you: I’m not trying to say that Apple will stubbornly stick to a 3.5″ screen, only as a means of remaining contrasted to competitor smartphones. We’ve already established that Android does some things better than the iPhone, and for many, offering larger-screened options is one of them. But it is well worth noting that the 4″+ screened iPhone 5 is not going to feel familiar in you, the iPhone user’s palm. It’s going to be a sea change for Apple at the design and production level, and a radically new experience for iPhone users. And in a world marked by plenty of unintended consequences, the “most revolutionary” iPhone 5 could ironically end up moving the iPhone design closer to Android than anyone could have ever imagined.

By Michael Nace

A new coating technology — tested on an iPhone — purports to seal a smartphone so well that it can go swimming. But how did this publicity stunt become a viable rumor for the iPhone 5?

Over the course of time that I’ve written on this blog, I’ve heard numerous commenters make their share of witty comments about zany rumors. Usually it goes like this: “Yeah, and the next iPhone will do my laundry,” or “Yeah, and the next iPhone will give psychiatric advice.” (Actually, with the evolution of Siri, you never know).

When I saw a rash of new rumors of a waterproof iPhone 5 pop up, it reminded me of the (much wittier) above-mentioned quips from the much saner readers and commenters of this blog, and how the rest of the iPhone 5 rumor mill didn’t seem to get the joke. In case you missed it, here are a collection of headlines from syndicated tech sites: “Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5 To Be Waterproof?” (Mobile Magazine), “iPhone 5 Will be Waterproof?” (International Business Times), “Samsung and Apple looking at new waterproof smartphone tech‎” (Pocket-Lint). That last one has enjoyed the “highly cited” tag on Google News.

In case you missed it, there’s this video — a publicity stunt by Zagg (and a very effective one at that) — to promote a new kind of synthetic coating that can virtually seal an iPhone’s internal hardware to the point where it can keep water from getting inside the chassis. The video managed to spur a viral media movement (as in bowel movement — or maybe bowl movement is more like it, but more on that in a second) that let to this flurry of articles.

Let’s get the synopsis right from the horse’s mouth — The Daily Mail – who says the following: “The new ‘nanotech’ spray coating  is applied to the circuitry inside phones and lets you dunk phones entirely underwater, and still takes calls.” The Mail gives this rumor the “real newspaper” treatment, citing completely unfounded claims like “Up to a million phones are water-damaged every year worldwide,” and “Fifty-two per cent of UK smartphone users who have water-damaged their phones admit to having done so by dropping them down the toilet.”

Really? “Up to a million?” So, that could be a million smartphones, or, like, seven.

And regarding the other statistic — that “Fifty-two per cent of UK smartphone users who have water-damaged their phones admit to having done so by dropping them down the toilet” — seems like it’s in the wrong article. Shouldn’t that be included in the whole U.K. Public Drinking Problem Issue article set?

All kidding aside, I don’t doubt that dropping your smartphone in the toilet or having it otherwise ruined by water is a real drag. And if smartphone manufacturers like Apple and Samsung could fortify their products’ ability to withstand and repel moisture, no one would argue that it would be a bad thing. But to imagine that these two smartphone giants are necessarily going to make a waterproof iPhone 5 or Android phone a major focal point in 2012 is crazy. The fact is, the source of these reports is the video itself, which in its own right is impressive: to see an iPhone get dunked in water and continue to function is a sight to behold, and precisely the kind of thing that makes geeks really excited (excited enough to imagine that this will be a pressing feature for the iPhone 5). But it does not constitute a reliable source.

I for one would not put a lot of stock into this report as a viable rumor for the iPhone 5. First, as you can probably read parenthetically from my sarcasm and mirth surrounding the whole toilet thing, I don’t think that Tim Cook loses sleep at night at the “up to a million” people worldwide who drop their smartphone in the potty. In fact, Mr. Cook, knowing how committed iPhone users are to their phones, is probably lobbying the toilet industry to widen the bowl diameters in order to increase submerged iPhones, leading to secondary purchases.

Second, it remains to be seen how practical this new technology is. Assuming that the iPhone 5 will continue to not give access to the battery as others have not, it is by definition a good candidate for such a sealant. But the sealant apparently coats the actual interior components — not the chassis itself. So, while after spending six minutes in your bathtub, your iPhone 5 will still work just fine, but you’ll hear water sloshing around in the chassis for the next six months.

And what about the cost? Would it be worth adding production costs to the iPhone 5 for this sort of sealant? How about just not putting your iPhone 5 near water sources?

By Michael Nace