Apple iphone 5

The iPhone 4 is now over a year old, and we're yet to catch a glimpse of Apple's follow-up smartphone. With no words as to when we'll be seeing the iPhone 5 - and with some rumours claiming it could be landing as late as November - is Apple's next-gen smartphone worth holding-out for?

Given Apple's usual tight-lipped nature, nothing concrete has been revealed about the iPhone 5. However, there's been month's worth of rumours and speculation, so we have a vague idea of what to expect.

First up is the rumour that the Apple iPhone 5 will sport a larger 4-inch 'edge-to-edge' display, bringing it up to speed with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S2 and HTC Sensation. This comes amidst the claims that it'll be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4, suggesting it'll boast the same compact frame as Cupertino's current flagship. While the iPhone 4's screen is one of the most slick and responsive available, a 4-inch screen would be a welcome addition to the next-gen handset, making it much-more suited to gaming and watching movies.

Powering its 'larger screen' will be Apple's dual-core A5 processor which made its debut on the iPad 2, if online speculation is in fact accurate. Once again, this would bring the iPhone 5 up to speed with its Android competitors, although its not such a big request amongst the iPhone faithful. Given the fact that iPhone applications are designed solely to work on the iPhone, users are unlikely to experience slowing down or 'lag'. However, a dual-core processor would give way for more impressive features - including enhanced graphics and ability to shoot 1080p HD video.

Speaking of video, the next-generation iPhone is also rumoured to sport a bumped-up camera. According to gossip, the iPhone 5 will sport an 8 megapixel Sony-manufactured camera, which would bring-it up to par with the Xperia Arc and Xperia Neo. This was all but confirms by Sony CEO, Howard Stringer, who revealed that his company is gearing up to deliver Apple a heap-load of 8 megapixel cameras.

Still, the iPhone 4's 5 megapixel camera is by no means poor, so it's not a big ask amongst iPhone users. We can also expect to see an improved front-facing camera - a much more welcomed change - which would allow for clearer FaceTime calls.

Although less likely than the previous rumours, Near Field Communication (NFC) technology is another mooted feature of the Apple iPhone 5. If accurate, this would enable users to make mobile-payments straight from their smartphone - and the iPhone could eventually replace your wallet.

Besides the aformentioned features, the handset's expected to be largely similar to its older sibling. For example, it'll come equipped with Apple's iOS 5 software (which will also be available on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS), and it's rumoured to be launching in both black and white variants. We can also expect to see all the usual connectivity options (HSDPA, WiFi), alongside the 16GB and 32GB models.

So, is the iPhone 5 worth waiting for? Certainly, if you're in the market for a larger screen and higher-spec camera. Besides that, however, the handset's expected to be largely similar to the Apple iPhone 4, which as it reigns as the UK's best-selling smartphone, is unlikely to become 'dated' anytime soon.

iphone 5

That's right, you read the headline correctly. It would seem as if Apple will not be releasing the iPhone 5 until 2012!

The reason, you ask? The reason is that Apple will be releasing the iPhone 4G in 2011. Everybody who is calling Apple's next iPhone the iPhone 5 is surely incorrect. Apple takes great pride in coming up with names for its products, and they will not make the mistake of releasing the iPhone 5 in June 2012.

My proof of this is in the names of Apple's last four smartphones. The iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4. Diving in a bit deeper, we'll be able to see why apple's next phone will be the iPhone 4G.

The Original iPhone, launched on June 28, 2007, was a big leap from any phone available at the time. But it didn't have any 3G network capability; it could only work on the EDGE (2G) network. Why didn't Apple call it the iPhone 2G then? The answer lay within the fact that the first iPhone was actually horrible at browsing the Internet. Most other phones at that time had 3G networking, so there was no way Apple could have advertised the fact that its phone was behind the current trend.

Then, on July 11, 2008, people lined up all over again for the iPhone 3G. This time around, Apple had managed to include 3G capabilities into its wildly successful phone, and the company named it accordingly. For the original iPhone buyers, this was a huge selling point to upgrade - so what better way to advertise than to name the phone with one of its features?

Less than a year later on June 19, 2009, the iPhone 3GS was released. Steve Jobs had been on a medical leave during the previous year, so the phone didn't turn out so well. It was just a minor specification bump. A small change of the internals couldn't warrant a big name change. So Apple just tacked on the letter S to the end of the iPhone 3G's name. Besides, the only improvement the iPhone 3GS had was speed.

Then, after a leaked phone got out, the iPhone 4 was released on June 24, 2010. Everything about the new iPhone 4 was changed. The design, the screen, the specifications were all new, so obviously Apple had to mark this big change with a big rename. They went from 3GS to 4. It was nice and simple now - what did you expect... iPhone 3GSX? The problem for Apple was that other manufacturers were starting to roll out 4G phones. Did the iPhone 4 have 4G networking? No.

But this year, manufacturers and carriers alike are really pushing 4G. Download a song in 4 seconds, browse the web as fast as at home, video chat; 4G is really the future. To remain competitive, Apple has to release a 4G iPhone. And what did we learn from the iPhone 3G? An upgrade in network speed means a name to reflect it... Therefore we come to the iPhone 4G.

Even if the tech giant decides not to go with 4G networking this year, there won't be an iPhone 5. Why? If the next iPhone doesn't have 4G browsing speeds, do you think they'll actually decrease the number in the name of the phone? Going from 5 to 4G would seem like moving backwards.

So after looking closely at history, and ahead to where the iPhone is going, there is only one logical name choice. The iPhone 4G. Sorry, but the iPhone 5 still has at least another year before it comes out.