iPhone 5 Rumor Mill Spars Over Release Date, Display Size
Posted by Michael Nace on Sunday Mar 25, 2012 Under iPhone 5 Opinion, iPhone 5 RumorA Reuters article last week claimed the iPhone 5 would feature a 4.6 inch screen and be released in the second quarter of 2012. Now, MacRumors counters with a newly-sourced rumor that the iPhone 5 release date will be in the fall, and sport the same 3.5-inch screen as the iPhone 4/4S.
Dueling iPhone 5 release date and display size rumors take center stage this weekend, and it’s left to us, the iPhone 5′ers, to sort it all out. You’ll recall our article from last week, citing an intriguing Reuters article out of South Korea that claimed the iPhone 5 will sport a massive 4.6-inch screen and be released “sometime in the second quarter of 2012.” Considering that June (and the WWDC) fall into the second quarter, most assumed that June would be the target month.
The top tech blogs met the Reuters report with widespread skepticism, citing the piece’s erroneous mentioning that the GS2 uses a 4.6-inch display as proof positive that the rumor simply could not be true. MacRumors was one of the online publications that really led the charge against the rumor.
Conveniently, MacRumors championed a rumor counterpunch yesterday, citing an iMore rumor that claims almost the exact opposite of what we heard in the Reuters article. The original iMore piece explains that, after writing a piece where they stated that “Apple was planning to stick with the current 3.5-inch screen size for the new iPhone, but that it wasn’t set in stone and it could get a little bigger,” they received new information from their sources. The update to the story is that “We’ve mentioned October 2012 as the current release schedule for iPhone 5,1 before and that’s still the plan,” and the “iPhone 5,1 is on track for [a] similar if not same sized screen (currently 3.5-inch but not set in stone).”
This reiteration of the same-sized screen rumor from iMore was met with dismay by most iPhone users, especially after MacRumors seconded the notion: “their source also claims that contrary to 4-inch rumors, the new iPhone will retain the same 3.5-inch screen, or very close to it.”
If you are one of the people demoralized by the MacRumors article and its general acceptance of the iMore rumor as true, there is some good news: there is some misquoting in the MacRumors piece that is worth mentioning.
It’s true that iMore has become one of the best prognosticators of Apple release dates and features — we saw them accurately report the release date and features of the iPad 3, for example. But MacRumors is mischaracterizing what the iMore article said about the iPhone 5′s display size. If you read the iMore piece closely, you’ll note that, while their source updated information on the new iPhone being released with 4G LTE and its release date timeframe, the screen size rumor did not crystalize any further, and iMore is still adding in the caveat that a 3.5-inch screen “is not set in stone.”
That detail is completely scrubbed out of the MacRumors post, and I suspect that they purposely ignored it because they are choosing to refute the Reuters article.
Why?
For one, it is my opinion that the tech community doesn’t like it when news agencies like Reuters or the AP poach on the tech rumor mill turf; that segment of the news is controlled by the likes of MacRumors, iMore, BGR — you name it. Only the Wall Street Journal seems to be allowed to interlope into their world of breaking news about new Apple gear. When an agency like Reuters files a report like this, all of the major mainstream news agencies run with it, and funnel web traffic to all kinds of online news websites other than the tech blogs.
It is a pity that the Reuters reporter made the error of misstating the SG2 screen size, because as a rule, real journalists who work for the big news agencies have a much more rigorous process for reporting stories like these. Unlike glorified tech blogs (this one included) who can trade e-mails with one person and report their rumor or tip as “news,” the Reuters journalist would have had to make a compelling case to their editor about the veracity of this rumor.
That’s why I sense it to be much more truth than lie.
Second, it’s also worth noting that tech sites like MacRumors have largely staked their claim on the fall as the release date for the iPhone 5, sensing that it is the safer bet. Last year’s wacky iPhone 4S delay had many top tech blogs like BGR spinning in circles over prognosticating over when it would be released. This time around, the fall is the safe bet for the iPhone 5 release date.
Considering that both of these rumors remain unsubstantiated, it is certainly possible that neither of them are true, and Apple will reveal the iPhone 5 on a date and with a screen size that proves both of them to be false. But one thing is for sure: while both rumors can be wrong, they cannot both be right. And I for one am still more apt to believe that the screen size of the iPhone 5 will not remain at 3.5 inches, and that a June release date is highly possible.
By Michael Nace
Michael Nace is the Publisher of the iPhone 5 News Blog and iPhone 6 News Blog. He has published articles about the iPhone since 2010.
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March 25th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
I hop you’re right about a June release date. I am so ready to get rid of my craptastic android I don’t know what to do. I’ve waited long enough, I’m ready to come back home to iPhone. There’s no way on God’s green earth I’d by a 4S knowing that the new phone will be out sometime this year.
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March 25th, 2012 at 10:49 pm
MacRumors is so retarded. Apple will not release another 3.5″ iPhone! Nor will they release a 4.6″. People are saying they will release a 4.6″ because they think it will be edge to edge. 4.6″ is too big, I’m sure apple will go to 4″ or at least 3.7″.
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March 26th, 2012 at 3:43 am
Man, do I hope that 3.5 inch rumor does not come to fruition. The small screen just does NOT work in regards to viewing video and particularly the in depth games (Not angry birds types.
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March 26th, 2012 at 10:50 am
I love my phone, except for battery life, and screen size.
If you put a larger screen on it, you can fit a bigger battery inside.
If Apple wants to put out a 4G phone, they will have to put a bigger battery inside. For a bigger battery to fit, the phone will have to get thicker, wider or taller.
What better way to hide the larger frame than with a bigger screen?
I really don’t see any way not to have a larger screen\frame at this point. Customers are demanding 4G, and 4G is demanding a bigger battery. And that bigger battery is demanding more room inside the phone.
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March 26th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
How about increasing the size of the screen but keeping the same overall size of the phone? My iPhone 4 has plenty of realestate available on it without an increase in phone size. Love the current size of the phone (fits in the pocket nice), but could use more screen ~ and it is just sitting there waiting to be used!
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March 26th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
Not without breaking the aspect ratio of 2:3 that has been there from the very beginning. You won’t get much more out of the stock frame size.
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March 26th, 2012 at 8:07 pm
The next iPhone *must* have a bigger screen and 4G LTE.
I think the next iPhone will debut earlier than last year. Android is craptastic and not an option for current iPhone owners (like me). But Microsoft is launching Windows Phone 8 at the end of the year, and there are a lot of people who skipped the 4S waiting for something better. If Apple doesn’t get it right (and beat Microsoft), there is the potential to lose customers.
I think Apple offers a far superior product than any Android I have seen. However, I also know that Microsoft is capable. They were “losing” the Web Browser war, then put out Internet Explorer (when it mattered) and dominated the web browser market for over a decade.
Microsoft has the same opportunity here. True, they are really late to the game and put out some bad smart phones to date (in comparison to Apple), but they have the horsepower to make a difference. And with Google dropping the ball, there is certainly ample opportunity for “second place” to Apple.
I may be in a small majority here, but if Apple launches roughly the same time as Microsoft, I am willing to wait a few more weeks to see what super phones Microsoft comes out with. If the next iPhone has a 3.5 inch screen, I would definitely jump ship (personal deal breaker).
More than likely, I will choose Apple (simply because they own all the content), but I will definitely be keeping a close eye on Microsoft, especially with a very often used XBOX in my house.
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March 26th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
Microsoft could have the most amazing phone hardware and OS, but it all comes down to the apps.
Developers just don’t want to code for 2 platforms, let alone 3 unless they are a huge player. There is only so much you can play Angry Birds, and Plants vs Zombies.
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March 27th, 2012 at 8:40 am
Here’s a thought if Apple don’t update the screen size, why not just stay on the IP4S and wait and see what their IP6 iteration will do?
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March 27th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
I will hope and pray that the iPhone 5 gets a 4.6″ display as well as 128 GB of storage space !!!
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April 9th, 2013 at 11:48 pm
With almost everything which appears to be developing within this particular subject material, your points of view are actually relatively radical. In any event I did appreciate examining it.
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