Breaking Down 9to5Mac’s New Claim Of Rumored iPhone 5 Parts
Posted by Michael Nace on Thursday May 31, 2012 Under Apple Rumors, iPhone 5 Opinion, iPhone 5 Rumor9to5Mac’s sources continue to be the center of the iPhone 5 story these days, with new claims of what the iPhone 5 is bound to feature under the hood.
We continue to get more and more details from 9to5Mac regarding what is purported to be the details for the upcoming iPhone 5. Just as the tech community was beginning to digest the rumored photos of the iPhone 5′s chassis and rear plate — which appears to show a metal back, moved components, and longer display — now we are getting details of some of the chips that could power the new iPhone.
According to 9to5Mac‘s new article, they now have access to the beta version of iOS 6. But in the same breath, writer Seth Weinthraub also references a “source:”
“The processor is known internally at Apple as the “A5-***” (the last three characters were removed to protect our source). This will most likely not be the final name. However, it seems probable that the processor will continue carrying the “A5″ name and will not step up to the “A6″ nomenclature—but that is far from certain.”
It might just be shoddy writing on Seth’s part — I’m sure he was feverishly typing out this post, trying to get it inserted early into the day’s news cycle — but what starts out as a divination from iOS 6 beta turns out to be leaked info from an insider whose identity is so close to the manufacturing of the processor that numbers need to be redacted out. Unfortunately, the contradiction here is bothersome, and throws up a bit of a red flag. Also, this piece of the new rumor doesn’t tell us much in the end — will it be a variant of the A5, or the A6? 9to5Mac is certainly not definitive.
Let’s move on to the GPU:
“As for GPU, the new iPhone also features something entirely new. The GPU chip, which will continue to be part of the SoC, is called “SGX543RC*” (the asterisk is another sensitive number that could identify people working on the device). This GPU technically does not exist yet and we don’t have specs.”
Again, we have the redacted model number makes me wonder about iOS 6 beta again — does 9to5Mac have it in their possession, or does their source have it? The article also asserts 1GM of RAM, and Gobi chips, which we had actually heard rumored a few months back. Particularly interesting is the discussion of Qualcomm Baseband chips:
“It is also interesting that some prototypes of this device use the older Qualcomm Baseband chips. This unit uses the same type of Qualcomm baseband found in the cellular-enabled ‘new’ iPad 4G units. Our source indicated this might be because he/she does not need access to any new baseband that they might use.”
Qualcomm? You mean the same Qualcomm that has been in the news for the past two months, whose chip shortfalls have been the center of growing concern that it could lead to a delay on the release of the iPhone 5? Moreover, what is “this unit,” versus “some prototypes?” Is “this unit” the unit that “this source” is perusing, or does 9to5Mac have it in their possession? And is “this unit” in any way related to “that unit” — the parts depicted in their original article?
What did 9to5Mac know, and when did they know it?
All kidding aside, I’m confused. I don’t feel like we’ve really gotten a clear and coherent explanation about the relationship between the leaked photos out of China showing some of the exterior parts, this “this unit” and its accompanying source, and where iOS 6 beta really fits in. It isn’t to say that all the rumored parts cannot be true, but the storyline is a bit hard to follow — at least for me.
As a postscript, let’s talk release date. Unlike the previous 9to5Mac article, this new one doubles down on the October release date:
“We are told Apple is far along in its iOS 6 development, so an October new iPhone deadline should be relatively easy—barring any unforeseen chip, part shortages/labor outages, etc. So ‘easy’, in fact, that an earlier release is possible.”
Again — is this a hedge? 9to5Mac has been a hard core proponent of the October release — but all of the new purported iPhone 5 parts — together with the revelation that iOS 6 is far along in its development (it better be — the WWDC is less than two weeks away!) — makes it sound like even they are beginning to sweat being possibly wrong about October. When we’re talking about an “earlier release,” what are we looking at? September? August?
How about July?
I’m struck by one observation: if they are worried that the October release date prediction may be inaccurate due to the stuff they are seeing, then it makes me believe that they truly trust their sources and what they are seeing. That doesn’t make their sotires true — it just means that I don’t think we’re getting snowed. I only wish that the reporting made a little more sense.
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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May 31st, 2012 at 5:45 pm
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May 31st, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Suddenly more and more rumors are popping up, and we’re two weeks away from WWDC! I still have my bets on an October release, but seeing as more important “parts” (unlike the home button and SIM card tray) are coming up, an August or even July release isn’t impossible! Really excited for the coming weeks ahead, the iPhone 5 we’ve all been waiting for (pun intended) is really taking shape!
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May 31st, 2012 at 7:09 pm
As a Truther I’m hoping it’s released in June and the way 9to5 reports sometimes an be VERY annoying/contradictory lol That’s why we have you Michael, you know how to write good and look at everything from all sides.
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May 31st, 2012 at 7:15 pm
To be fair, the inconsistencies might just be bad reporting/writing on their part. I think that what they need to do is stich together this massive parts dump into one big article tell us the whole story — lay it out for us.
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May 31st, 2012 at 8:00 pm
I think they are just covering their asses (excuse my french). WWDC is our best hope, and apples. All their competition is coming up and they need to do something fast. On a side note NEW ORLEANS ATT OFFICIALLY HAS 4G LTE!!! Super fast iPhone here I come! Can’t wait to see what happens during Mardi Gras next year after the 4G iPhone is released! Currently, you can’t even make phone calls, maybe enough bandwidth will save the party!
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May 31st, 2012 at 9:16 pm
Michael, well done. I was having some similar concerns myself, so I appreciate your analysis and laying out some of the potential issues with this reporting. I agree that they need to drop back, get their ducks in a row, and give us something that is easy to follow. I feel like I just watched Mission Impossible all over again…
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May 31st, 2012 at 9:35 pm
I’ve read this article, which was very well written, and you explicitly state that any inconsistencies you reported on are the errors of other writers, not you Michael. So when it comes to all these inconsistencies, we won’t hold anything against you of course … but the fact that there are these inconsistencies does bother me a bit. I’m really not sure what to get out of this … hopefully we will get some kind of revelation in the next few days to clear up the confusion because we can only have it one way or the other. It’s either this date, or that date … either now, or October.
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May 31st, 2012 at 10:55 pm
@Micheal look at this video, I think we have the complete iPhone 5!!
http://www.technobuffalo.com/companies/apple/iphone/iphone-5-front-panel-caught-on-film-video/
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June 1st, 2012 at 4:04 am
Interesting. I appreciate your efforts to lay it all out on the table for us readers. Great job really, thanks.
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June 1st, 2012 at 7:07 am
I am bored of its just apps and icons on the iphone. All the people who is so exited about how the new iphone will be i not good. I mean apple don’t tries new thing. They should try something new that will make a new sort of revelution, and not jst opgrades of their phones. As we see on the statestics from the companies; we see that android “owns” the ios. Apple is out-dated. Lg and other androinds smart mobIle companies have discoverd a new sort of display( ah-dhs…. Or something) and it owns the retina display. Apple is no more the best smart phone marked anymore, they just were!!!!!!!
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June 1st, 2012 at 7:09 am
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June 1st, 2012 at 7:46 am
That’s not the new iPhone. It can’t be. Purely based on the fact that it’s funny looking. This is a hoax…
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June 1st, 2012 at 10:01 am
I am not happy with the possible design here. At least I won’t feel bummed out running on a 4s for another year.
If we were hinted at getting this, I think the outlook would be far better.
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June 1st, 2012 at 10:06 am
Could this be another plus towards a WWDC reveal for the iPhone 5???
http://www.pcworld.com/article/256626/apple_wins_battle_over_nanosim_standard.html#tk.rss_news
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June 1st, 2012 at 10:43 am
Oh yeah, and Apple is definitely not noticing the long lines of people waiting to purchase the GS3 (did you get the sarcasm?), it’s sold out in the UK today. The only other time i’ve seen that phenomenon related to a cell phone is with an iphone launch. Android is getting better, and the 4s 3.5inch screen is looking pretty small & outdated. Apple has to be crunching the numbers and looking at the risks & opportunities of trying to squeeze out a few more months of sales of the 4s before releasing the Iphone 5. The apparent success of the GS3 may pull in that timeline a couple of months if we are lucky – unless there are significant hardware supply constraints.
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June 1st, 2012 at 10:50 am
Just check this article out…Samsung seems to be on a roll! http://www.technobuffalo.com/companies/samsung/samsung-sells-50-million-galaxy-s-galaxy-s-ii-devices-7-million-galaxy-notes/#
Lets go iphone5!!! I am an evo owner but had iphone 2g/3g b4 and now im dying to back to apple.
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June 1st, 2012 at 11:31 am
@Eric – I’m buying, what you’re selling. Spot on imo.
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June 1st, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Everything is very open with a clear clarification of the issues. It was really informative. Your website is extremely helpful. Thanks for sharing!
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June 1st, 2012 at 12:14 pm
Hopefully this works but iMore has a pic of what the next iPhone could look like, and I think it looks amazing:
Apologize if I did that wrong, my HTML is a little bit rusty.
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June 1st, 2012 at 12:14 pm
Here’s the link, please just disregard my previous fail
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http://cdn.tipb.com/images/stories//2012/05/16-9_iphone_tall_hero_black-620×345.jpg
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June 1st, 2012 at 3:40 pm
If ‘new iPhone’ looks exactly like the old phone, then Apple would have just pulled a massive con and failed big time. I have been saying that their ‘new’ phone will probably look similar and keep the same form factor as their current phone.
If they do offer this with a weird elongated screen, then I’m sorry, but its not worth the wait. I agree with the comments above that having icons and apps as the front screen is now getting boring and old, if they really want to innovate, then the new item will have to be really specatular, problem is, I don’t think it will be.
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June 2nd, 2012 at 9:52 am
It would be nice if the iPhone weren’t so fragile and didn’t require these heavy cases. Don’t get me wrong, I love my 4S in its Defender case but I would be even happier if I didn’t have to have a case. To just toss it in my purse without worry of it getting scratched or to accidentally drop it on the ground and have it survive without a case would be a major step forward IMHO.
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