Apple is preparing to produce its next iPhone model for release this summer, according to unnamed source at the China-based supplier Foxconn. While a number of varying sample devices are floating around, the next iPhone could include a 4-inch screen with a form factor unlike the current iPhone 4S.
9to5Mac cites a “reliable source” within the Apple supplier. Although unidentified, the source said the iPhone 5 could appear during Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference set for this summer. In 2011, the tech giant departed from its usual iPhone product launch schedule, delaying introducing the iPhone 4S until October.
As for the iPhone 5’s appearance, at least one of the samples seen by the Foxconn employee includes a 4-inch screen, suggesting Apple is considering enlarging the smartphone’s current display. Observers have debated whether Apple should become part of an industry push to offer larger screens both to accommodate better graphics and differentiate similar-looking products. The iPhone 4S has a 3.5-inch screen.
Unlike some reports that the new smartphone will have a teardrop shape, the blog reports all iPhone 5 production samples avoid such changes, however are longer and wider than currently available Apple handsets.
The most important feature found in the samples is that none are the final version. As the time goes on, we are likely to hear more leaks about the shape and functionality of the new iPhone.
But can this report be trusted? The site says this latest leak comes from the same source who advised against the widespread assumption Apple would unveil the iPhone 5 in the summer of 2011. Instead, the Cupertino, Calif. company unveiled the iPhone 4S, a handset similar to the iPhone 4 but with the voice-recognition system Siri.
What are the readers’ opinions? Should we believe the new iPhone is a complete departure from the iPhone 4S? Such a report is contrary to Apple’s tradition of evolutionary product updates.
