The iPhone 5 News Blog

Citing “people familiar with the situation,” WSJ is reporting that orders for new 4-inch-plus displays for the iPhone 5 will only commence in June, further suggesting a fall release.

Today, WSJ offered up a new rumor, citing their “people familiar with the situation,” regarding the iPhone 5′s display and production schedule. The report, filed by Lorainne Luk and Juno Osawa, further support the wide-held belief that the new iPhone will feature a screen size increase somewhere in the 4-inch range. This may not come as big news to those who have been following iPhone 5 rumors for the past year or so, but the WSJ article’s claims regarding the production and order schedule for the iPhone 5′s new display is noteworthy:

“Production is set to begin next month for the screens, which measure at least 4 inches diagonally compared with 3.5 inches on the iPhone 4S, the latest phone from Apple, the people said.”

Assuming that WSJ has the story right, this news would obviously disqualify the iPhone 5 from making its debut at the WWDC this year, as it remains to be seen if there would be enough lead time between now and the actual launch of a post-WWDC-announced iPhone 5 to produce enough iPhone 5s for a launch in early July. Jonny Evans at Computerworld makes this point well, stating: “Given the need to stockpile millions of these displays in order to build millions of iPhones, commencing display production marries well with claims of a September launch for the device.”

Stalwart June iPhone 5 release date truthers will ask: how accurate and reliable is WSJ and their “people familiar with the situation?” Read More

A purported photo of the iPhone 5's earpiece/headphone component

It seems as if every year before a new iPhone release, we get glimpses of the most abstract, unrecognizable iPhone parts that, to the vast majority of tech mortals, look like little more than a Picasso. How many iPhone users, after all, have ever seen the inside of an iPhone firsthand without having dropped it off a second-floor balcony?

That’s a rhetorical question.

The latest iPhone 5 pin-up photos were reported by MacRumors, who point out that, should this new component prove to be real, then we are seeing a transposition of controls that would be a signal of a new form factor:

If the new part is indeed legitimate, it does represent a significant departure from the component organization in the current iPhone. In the iPhone 4 and 4S, the headphone jack, volume buttons, and mute switch are grouped together on a single component, while this new part associates the headphone jack with the earpiece speaker and Wi-Fi cabling.

Like many regular-Joe iPhone users, I’m not great at eyeballing all of the touch points of a component like this to tell what does what, so I decided to try and compare the same component currently used on the iPhone 4 and 4S. Take a look, and tell me if you can make much sense of the new design, and how the two compare and contrast: Read More

With the preponderance of speculation claiming that the iPhone 5′s new display will be on the lower end of 4 inches, the big, 5-inch iPhone 5 display rumor persists. With the big, new GS3 screen and the marginal success of the Galaxy Note, is the 5-inch display becoming a new smartphone benchmark that Apple could look to imitate?

You’ll recall that over the past few months, we processed some hefty rumors about Apple working on a beefy 5-inch display for its upcoming iPhone 5 release. Delving into the iPhone 5 News Blog‘s repository of  posts on the subject of screen size, I am reminded of this rather big story that came out of Japan on March 29th that new, 5-inch displays are being mass-produced in earnest for the iPhone 5. Prior to that, we also had a rumor on March 22nd out of South Korea — Samsung’s home base — that 4.6-inch screens were in production for the iPhone 5.

And let’s not forget: we’ve also heard rumors about a longer iPhone 5 display that would retain the device’s current width. Tech pundits have seemed to like this theory and accompanying rumor — supplied by iLounge last week — because it manages to balance everything we believe Apple is considering for the iPhone 5′s screen size: they want it to be bigger, but they don’t necessarily want it to radically change the overall dimensions of what looks and feels like an iPhone. But as you can see, the iPhone 5 screen size rumors are so varied and inconsistent that there is virtually no consensus. Heck, we’ve even heard some say that the new iPhone won’t feature any change in screen size. Read More

AppleInsider Staff report that Apple has negotiated more deals with smaller regional domestic carriers — mot recently with Kentucky’s Bluegrass Cellular, California’s Golden State Cellular, and Kansas’ Nex-Tech Wireless, which will begin offering the iPhone 4S on May 18.

So, what does that have to do with the iPhone 5? Nothing directly, but it does seem unlikely that Apple would be setting up more carrier partners with iPhone 4S stock and promotions for the third week of May if they are planning to unveil their next generation handset at the World Wide Developers Conference less than a month after that.

The Appleinsider report notes that these latest regional carrier partnerships come a month after five other small carriers announced they had signed partner deals with Apple, namely: Alaska Communications, Appalachian Wireless, Cellcom, GCI and nTelos which all began selling the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 on April 20. Read More

DigiTimes is floating a new rumor claiming that we’ll see a Mini iPad release in August and the much-anticipated iPhone 5 in September.

Citing an unnamed source in Asia, DigiTimes is claiming to have the inside track on the release dates for both the Mini iPad and the iPhone 5, as well as a 10-inch iPad — all of which are said to becoming before the year’s end. The new article states that “Pegatron Technology reportedly has landed orders for a new-generation iPhone to be launched in September and a 10-inch iPad to be launched in the fourth quarter, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers,” but that also “a 7-inch iPad, which reportedly will be released in August, will be manufactured by Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry).”

If DigiTimes‘ sources are to be believed, there could very well be an Apple product launch in August, September, and October — and perhaps even November, if the iTV doesn’t make an appearance at the WWDC in June.  But Jonny Evans at Computerworld reminds us that: “These claims don’t come from Pegatron, but from Digitimes’ shadowy world of ‘Taiwan-based supply chain makers’ — in itself a demographic to conjure with, do people make supply chains?”

Is there any reason to believe that DigiTimes has any part of this rumor correct? Read More

The well-sourced iLounge has painted a new picture of what the iPhone 5 could look like, including its screen size, connectivity, and use of metal (maybe LiquidMetal?) on its back.

Chunky details are emerging from an unnamed source at iLounge. Jeremy Horwitz usually delivers the goods over there, so what he has to say is most definitely checking out. Here’s what he had to say about the iPhone 5:

“. . . the new iPhone will indeed be longer and thinner than the iPhone 4 and 4S. Approximate measurements are 125mm by 58.5mm by 7.4mm—a 10mm jump in height, nearly 2mm reduction in thickness, and virtually identical width. According to our source, Apple will make one major change to the rear casing, adding a metal panel to the central back of the new iPhone. This panel will be flat, not curved, and metal, not ceramic.”

The rear metal casing, as iLounge’s in-house graphics guru has depicted above, could very well fit in nicely with the recent LiquidMetal rumors, no? In a sense, it’s hard to imagine that Apple would use the incredibly innovative LiquidMetal alloy to make a very plain-backed iPhone 5. Some have suggested that it’ll feature some kind of etched, holographic feature (maybe the Apple logo?). Whatever it is, it would have to substantiate the extra cost of using it — Apple may own the exclusive rights to use LiquidMetal on gadgets, but it doesn’t own the company. Thus, using it will be an expense. Read More

A staffer at a top U.S. brokerage firm that handles Intel and Apple’s ocean/air accounts has informed the iPhone 5 News Blog that “something big is about to happen.” The source provided me with the address and telephone number of where she works, and I was able to call and verify her employment at the brokerage firm.

“Recently my team and I have been getting A LOT of protocol from Apple lately, and I can tell you there is something big getting ready to happen. Whether or not it’s the iPhone I’m not at liberty to say, but the paperwork has definately beefed up, and I’m positive it’s not MacBooks or iPads. Nothing has been flown out, but they are definately getting everything in order for customs and the FCC, I can tell you that.”

The “protocol” that the source is referring to is the routine in which a particular business runs and sets up its paperwork before going to audit or customs.

I also asked about the reference to the FCC. The source explained that “everything that comes from overseas gets labeled either from the FDA or FCC. Most electronics are FCC, while all food is FDA.” Read More

One of Apple’s newest patent filings outlines a new NFC-based iTunes gifting concept. But it also highlights a possible iWallet logo or even an NFC hardware component position. Is Apple preparing its first foray into NFC for iOS 6 and the iPhone 5 this year?

Near field Communication, or NFC for short, has long been rumored for the iPhone 5. In fact, it was one of the first big rumored features for the iPhone 5 way back in the second half of 2012, after the iPhone 4 had been released. A year and half and one iPhone 4S later, we still do not have an Apple device with NFC technology, or the ability to “wave and pay” for products. Yet, because we know that Apple seeks to make the iPhone a mobile device that intersects with virtually every facet of our mobile lifestyles — communication, socialization, entertainment, information access, and purchasing/finances — NFC technology is more than a flashy, fad-driven feature; it is an inevitable function of next-generation mobile devices.

There are, of course, difficulties surrounding the NFC rollout: Apple needs to build an incredibly secure method for interfacing users’ finances with a wireless payment system that makes the transfer of data and money quick and easy. Also, they need to get the entire mainstream retail sector to buy into it, and utilize the hardware necessary to accept NFC payments. These challenges, together with some users’ uneasiness about the concept of wave and pay in general, are all obstacles that make NFC’s risk/reward ratio questionable.

Apple’s latest NFC-related patent, however, which was just filed on April 26th, reveals a new scheme that might have Cupertino deploying NFC in a more limited format as soon as this year. Most importantly, the patent illustrations reveal an interesting schematic for NFC hardware on the iPhone, and where it might be placed. Read More

When a new iPhone 5 parts rumor such as this one surfaces, what should a blogger write about — what the rumor implies about the iPhone 5, or whether the rumor is believable? How about both.

OK — here we go again with the iPhone home button and leaked parts rumors. This one, concerning the home button, comes from the Apple Bitch, who apparently went digging around the China-based TVC-Mall.com, which is notorious for posting and selling parts for past, present, and future Apple gadgets. Apple Bitch reports that “TVC Mall has, in the past, appeared to act as a source for leaks of other components for unreleased Apple products. In January, prior to the launch of the new iPad, replacement power cables, microphone flex cables, headphone jack connectors and a Bluetooth antenna for the unreleased device appeared on the site.”

Like every purported sighting of an iPhone part, there is a built-in dubiousness associated with this rumor. I need not remind you of the proliferation of purported “iPhone 5″ cases that were on sale for much of the summer of 2011, which tech analysts dissected in hopes of diving the new size and features of an iPhone 5 that never emerged. Heck — even CaseMate got into the fray with iPhone 5 cases before the official announcement.

And don’t forget — we’ve also seen leaked photos of home buttons before as well.

Remember this leaked photograph of the home button that appeared to explode the hopes of an overhauled iPhone 5 in 2011? We also had this photo to contend with, showing assemblers working on what was purported to be iPhone 5 glass displays with a cut-out for an elongated home button. Many believed that this photo was a sneak peak at the capacitive, multi-touch home button that had been heavily rumored for the iPhone in 2011.

On the subject of the elongated home button, the Apple Bitch appears to trust these new home photo photos, commenting that “The biggest surprise, or perhaps disappointment, for some is that the Home buttons appear to be round in shape. If the parts turn out to be genuine, then this would essentially quash any suggestion that Apple was redesigning the iPhone 5 with an oval touch capacitive Home button.” It is worth noting that if — and if is a big if here — these home buttons are legitimate, they are in fact smaller than the original home buttons used as late as the iPhone 4S. The actual circular button on the right is smaller, even though its base is the same dimensions as the old home button.

This would indicate to me that Apple could in essence reduce the size of the home button itself, while still conforming its connective features so that internal components would not have to change as much. All of this could be leading to a slight increase in screen size while still maintaining the basic dimensions of the iPhone, a notion that has recently picked up steam in the rumor mill. But we’re a long way from believing this rumor. Sure, it is possible that a Foxconn staffer stuck their hand into a vat of these home buttons and somehow (I don’t want to know how) smuggled them past security. But a more likely explanation is that tweaking a few home buttons can throw a lot of traffic to a website like TVC-Mall.com.

By Michael Nace 

The overworked 2011 rumor of an “el cheap-o” iPhone Nano to accompany the full-fledged iPhone 5 has reemerged, with Asian sources claiming to have seen components for a low-cost counterpart to this year’s new iPhone offering.

For the better part of the 2011 summer, the tech media considered the notion that Apple would release two smartphones — the pro-version iPhone 5 and an el cheap-o iPhone 4S to go along with it. The iPhone 5 News Blog never really got it: having the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 4 (and maybe even iPhone 3GS) would be one (or to) iPhone(s) too many. Of course, in the end, we ended up with what would have been the middle grade iPhone, anyway. But at least consumers weren’t left with the conundrum of having to choose from all those iPhones.

But if we’ve learned anything this year, it’s that any iPhone 5 rumor in 2011 is fair game for 2012. And the newest regurgitated rumor is once again that the iPhone 5 will have a cheaper-priced “Nano” counterpart.

Is there anything more compelling about the el cheap-o iPhone Nano rumor this year that makes it more believable?

SlashGear reported later today, “It’s the ‘iPhone nano’ that we’re hearing about today, straight from the China Times to your doorstep. This tip comes from that continent and suppliers which remain unnamed saying that they are, indeed, creating units which point to a low-cost entry-level iPhone for the next generation iPhone 5 this fall.”

I took a look at the original China Times article via Google Translate and lost a few thousand brain cells in the process. What seems apparent is that there are absolutely no details surrounding the rumors — they are simply coming out of the manufacturing sector of China. What makes these purported iPhone units “low cost” might point to the components being used — not necessarily a smaller “nano” design that would be cheaper, much like how the rumored “Mini iPad” would be cheaper, thanks in part to a smaller screen.

SlashGear anticipates the fishiness of this rumor as being a by-product of the Mini iPad speculation, and I tend to agree: “This tip may well come right on time with the iPad Mini being tipped as well, wouldn’t you say?” I would say that making a case for a “Mini iPad” and “Nabo iPhone” — while perhaps the driving force behind these rumors — is like comparing apples and oranges. While the Mini iPad would debut into a market already inhabited by similarly sized and priced tablets, a Nano iPhone has no real analogue. Besides which, Apple has proven that it does not need to lower prices or offer lower-priced products in order to turn a buck — in the west, that is. The only possible consideration for Apple to produce a lower-priced iPhone this year in my opinion would be to cater to developing nations, who otherwise cannot afford the premium pricing of new iPhone models. But all in all, I find it highly doubtful that Apple will — or will ever — co-release a New iPhone. I expect 2012 to feature the iPhone 5, 4S, and 4, with the latter being the ultra value-priced “legacy” model.

By Michael Nace