The iPhone 5 News Blog

Announcing a new iPhone model this fall is one thing. Shipping it in sufficient volume to meet anticipated demand could be another.

Eleven months ago we referenced a Digitimes report that new iPhone (at the time we thought it would be the iPhone 5) production was in full swing, with Apple’s principal iPhone OEM Foxconn Electronics reportedly cranking out 150,000 units per day, building a stockpile to meet anticipated demand after a fall model upgrade announcement.

Of course we now know it was the iPhone 4S being stockpiled, but the preparations were evidently well-calculated since there were no major supply issues with the 4S despite strong initial and sustained sales.

This year Apple will presumably want to do the same with what will be popularly referred to as the iPhone 5, whatever its official name turns out to be. However, plans to repeat this fall may hit a snag due to component supply issues. Read More

Skeptics of the purported iPhone 5 prototypes have suggested that the longer display and stretched aspect ratio would cause mayhem in the app world. But new evidence shows that iOS 6 can accommodate the elongated screen.

Among people who are skeptical of the iPhone 5 sightings first released by 9to5Mac, there tends to be two camps: the “I don’t like it” camp” and the “it cannot be done” camp. Those in the former group are acting on personal preference, and imagining that Apple would not dare elongate the iPhone 5′s display on account of their not liking the idea. But for the latter, many say that the likelihood of an altered aspect ratio for the iPhone 5 is low, since a chance in aspect ratio would run the risk of fragmenting the all-important app market that already exists for iOS  devices.

A new report from 9to5Mac today, however, indicates that there are clues within iOS 6 beta that suggests it can handle the change in aspect ratio, thus bridging the gap between the old iPhone display dimensions and the new 640 x 1136 display rumors that continue to persist. Read More

Looking for a side-by-side comparison of all the iPhone 5 parts salvaged thus far in Asia? This video has it.

Since the first iPhone 5 parts were spotted in the wild, we’ve seen a lot of still photos. But this new video series from iPhone5Parts.net offers a rather comprehensive side-by-side video comparison of iPhone 4S and 5 parts, complete with measurements. If you’re expecting to discover something completely new about the iPhone 5 that you haven’t already read, then this isn’t the video to watch; it basically highlights all of the subtle and not-so-subtle changes in the screen dimensions, as well as the redistribution of the front-facing camera lens and related holes.

In this first video, there are a couple minor discoveries: namely, that the new iPhone 5 display does not accommodate the old iPhone 4S home button. At first glance, the dimensions of the home button space seems the same, but when the presenter tries to insert a 4S home button into the new space, he cannot get it to slide in. Another novel test comes at the end of the video,  when the presenter scratches both the 4S and 5 display with a set of car keys, and appears to show a completely scratchless iPhone 5 glass. Read More

If the unbridled joy and fervor of the 30-pin dock connector being reduced to the newfangled 19-pin variety, then get ready for an even tinier, 8-pin dock connector for the iPhone 5. Or so the rumor mill tells us.

For the remainder of this rumor cycle, I’m going to have to write about the dock connector with a little bit of mirth, since it seems like we’ve already spent far too much time discerning about the iPhone 5′s dock connector. Sure, a new dock connector will have implications, but fretting over butt-end of the iPhone 5 seems like an exercise in futility.

Of course, exercises in futility are the iPhone 5 rumor mill’s specialty.

The report originated by Jeremy Horwitz over at iLounge, who said:

“According to two sources, Apple’s new Dock Connector features only 8 pins, seemingly contradicting claims of “16-pin” and “19-pin” connectors. Although the original Dock Connector contained 30 pins, reports of 16- or 19-pin connectors seemed hard to square with the port’s small size and Apple’s actual need for additional pins beyond what USB/Micro-USB offer.”

If you’re looking for photos or schematics that corroborate Horwitz’s sources’ claims, I’m sorry to say that none are forthcoming. It seems that Horwitz has substantiated what he has heard with the photos of the purported iPhone 5 we’ve seen sprouting up across the rumor mill (which, by the way, my consumer electronics accessory executive source has confirmed is the iPhone 5 — they are already tooling cases for it). Looking at the photo of the dock connector, indeed it looks more like the size of a micro USB port, and could very well support the notion of a smaller dock connector. Read More

Apple’s future iPhone releases used to be the closest-held secrets in the consumer technology sector. But this year, the tech media claims to have all the answers for what the iPhone 5 will look like and when it will be released. Is cagey Apple and its secretive iPhone release a thing of the past?

If you listen to the iPhone 5 rumor mill these days, it would appear that the new iPhone has been figured out: we know exactly what it will look like, the dimensions of the display, the new 19-pin dock connector, and now — the announcement date. In spite of the fact that it isn’t even August yet, sources now claim that September 12th has been circled on the calendar by Cupertino execs for the big iPhone 5 exposé.

According to Jonny Evans roundup article over at Computerworld, this date has been confirmed not by only one tech media outlet, but several:

All Things Digital, The Loop and others are all making claims of this September 12 event, and while most are not categorically stating this will see the introduction of the new device, the date does seem to match existing speculation claiming a Fall release of the new smartphone. Recent reports claimed iPhone 5 production to have already begun. The device should then ship around September 21/22, we’re told.

Yet another iPhone 5 surfaces, made to the exacting specs of the one originally shown on 9to5Mac. Is this just another fake modeled after the iPhone 5 specs from the original leak, or has Apple completely lost control of its own security?

The reports these days are starting to sound like a broken record: yet another purported iPhone 5 has shown up in the rumor mill. But with each passing sighting, one has to wonder: is this just another mock-up master who has managed to build an iPhone 5 according to the specs originally posted by 9to5Mac, or in fact are these the iPhone 5s that we’re going to see revealed sometime in the fall?

If the latter, then Apple has utterly lost control of security in Asia. Click to read more and see the new photo. Read More

More and more iPhone 5 production rumors abound, putting the new iPhone in line for an announcement and release similar to that of the iPhone 4S in 2011. Meanwhile, those persistent rumors of the smaller dock connector have seeped into the mainstream media.

It was just about this time last year that we started to hear about the likes of Foxconn and Pegatron getting busy with iPhone 5 production rumors. Little did we know at the time that we’d end up with the pedestrian iPhone 4S. But if the abortive 2011 iPhone 5 speculation has a silver lining, it’s that it gave us a timeline to compare all of this year’s rumors against.

And true to form, we’re beginning to hear whisperings that the iPhone 5 is actually — finally — in production.

The news today comes by way of a DigiTimes source, which claims that the iPhone 5 assembly is underway in Shanghai, with backup assembler Pegatron getting to work on pumping out new iPhone units. According to CNET:

“iPhone 5 production reports are rolling in from Asia with more frequency. This time, a Taipei-based report claims that Pegatron has started making the next iPhone. The Taiwan-based manufacturer has begun production of a new version of the iPhone at its factory in Shanghai, according to Digitimes, citing “industry sources in Taiwan.” This follows a week-earlier report claiming basically the same thing — though that report did not specify the manufacturer.”

The “week-earlier” report that CNET is referring to is one that came from Japanese rumor blog Macotakara. However, CNET dilutes this new DigiTimes production rumor by linking it to the Macotakara rumor, since “. . .the Macotakara blog cites listings for iPhone 5 cases on China’s Alibaba.com.”

Not the most rock-solid proof of iPhone 5 production, to be sure. Read More

danbo at the Japanese language Apple-watcher blogsite Macotakara cites “reliable Chinese sources” telling him that production of the new iPhone has started the manufacture phase, with images of “iPhone 5 cases” being leaked at Alibalba.com. Production starting now would be consistent with stockpiling of inventory for a late September or October product launch.

danbo’s source also allows that “iPhone 5″ images that had been revealed in May via 9to5Mac were of a prototype for design testing, and that the actual production version of the new iPhone is different from the test device in several design details, including, according to this source, a back cover with a “naked aluminum surface and partially glass covered part,” and that a mysterious small hole that had been evident in between the LED flash and camera lens in the test mule shots, has now disappeared or been made “invisible.”

A partial aluminum back would make the iPhone more rugged and resistant to drop damage, with a retained glass insert section key to maintaining good antenna range, with the antennas relocated inside the phone’s housing enclosure, and would also locate the rear-facing camera, flash, and a microphone for recording sound in video clips. Read More

New, purported iPhone 5 front piece appears to match up with the 9to5Mac prototypes, depicting a centered FaceTime Camera. But are all of these images adding up to consensus, or confusion?

If you are one of the iPhone enthusiasts out there who is not particularly excited about the longer iPhone 5 theory with stretched aspect ratio, then the recent parade of purported leaked parts cannot be good news for you. Ever since the release of the now-famous 9to5Mac iPhone 5 prototypes, virtually every subsequent iPhone 5 part that has leaked onto the rumor appears to match the original prototypes. This new one is no exception.

The new sighting was first reported on a Chinese tech website called Apple.pro, and appears to depict an iPhone 5 front casing that would appear to feature the same new aspect ratio that we’ve seen appearing on other parts leaks as well. TechCrunch reports the following about the new parts leak:

“They show that the front-facing camera for video chat has been centered above the speaker grill. This matches up splendidly with images shown by 9to5mac, especially since this image also shows a taller screen with the same exact width and bezels as the iPhone 4/4S.”

TechCrunch appears to have eyeballed the similarity between this piece and the prototype shots from 9to5Mac — there’s no indisputable match-up between them. But I think that the most interesting discussion topic about this particular parts leak is the appearance of a centered front-facing camera, and whether that subtle change proves this piece to be the ring thing or yet another bogus sighting. Read More

Know Your Mobile has trotted out August 7th as their roulette number for the iPhone 5 announcement, citing “reliable sources.”

As the summer rolls on in the northern hemisphere, we’re bound to get an increasing number of moonshot guesses and purported announcement date claims for the iPhone 5. You’ll recall that last summer, CNET UK infamously staked its reputation on the iPhone 5 being released on a specific day in September. We now have our first post-WWDC iPhone 5 announcement date guess.

The claim comes from Know Your Mobile, who tells us the following:

“Apple will announce the iPhone 5 on August 7, Know Your Mobile can exclusively reveal.

A reliable industry source who wishes to remain anonymous revealed to Know Your Mobile that Apple’s highly-anticipated and much-rumoured iPhone 5 will be launched via a keynote speech on August 7.”

Sure! Ok! Let’s go with that! August 7th seems as good of a date as any, right? Read More