Okay, we all know the next iPhone is going to be announced in a little under three hours… but which one? The iPhone 4S or the iPhone 5?
Claiming they have been “briefed” on today’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event by “sources familiar with Apple’s plans, the guys over at The Next Web say they’ve confirmed the iPhone 4S, which will have the same form factor, an A5 processor, 1GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel camera with “improved optics” and more. Don’t expect the iPhone 5.
Editor’s Note: We first posted this yesterday, but for readers who didn’t see it, we’re bumping it to the top of the page so people know what’s coming in just about three hours.
Hey, we know: after sixteen months of rumors, figuring out exactly what to expect from Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event tomorrow can be confusing. Well, let us break it all down for you. Here’s everything we know (or think we know) about what Apple’s going to announce tomorrow. It’s going to be a hell of a show.
Greedy rumor-mongers didn’t even wait until Tim Cook started running the show at Apple to begin spreading rumors of his plans to quit. Back in 2010, investor gossip site Fly On The Wall wrongly suggested that Cook was off to join HP as its new CEO. (Gullible investors actually led to Apple stock dropping 20 points as a result.) Now that Cook is CEO it’s a bit more difficult to make those kinds of reports convincing, so the narrative has instead changed to suggest the Apple board is unhappy with Cook’s performance and plans to drop him at the earliest possible opportunity. Well, plenty of opportunities have presented themselves, but Cook’s still hanging on in there.
Maybe (shock horror!) people have realized he’s actually doing a pretty great job.
If, like me, you were hoping to keep up with Apple’s announcements today via a live video stream straight out of Cupertino, then we have bad news for you: Tim Cook will not be gracing the airwaves for an instant live-stream.
After months and months of speculation, Apple will finally unveil its fifth-generation iPhone later today, but when will you be able to get your hands on it? According to one report, the iPhone 4S will launch in ten days, on October 14, and will start at around $99 for a 16GB model.
So the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sprint was so desperate to get the iPhone now that AT&T’s exclusivity deal is up, they actually bet the future of their company on it: they’ve placed an order for over $20 billion in iPhone sales over the next four years. Sprint won’t break even on the deal until 2014, and if the iPhone suddenly becomes less popular (yeah, right), the deal could sink the company.
That’s a big story. It seems almost unbelievable, in fact, that Sprint would bet the future of its company on just one device, but that’s exactly what they appear to have done.
Want to know something even more unbelievable, though? According to a follow up report… Sprint’s ballsy deal secured them exclusive rights to the iPhone 5.
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Okay, so tomorrow, Apple’s going to announce iOS 5’s new feature, Assistant, which allows you to control your iPhone 4S using just your voice. Big deal, you might be thinking, somewhat sarcastically. But it is a big deal.
In fact, one of the co-founders of the company behind Apple’s Assistant technology says it’s no less than a “world-changing event.”
Well, this is certainly unexpected. Apple may have kept secret a big change to the App Store that they’ll announce at the “Let’s Talk iPhone” event tomorrow: app rentals.
Now that questions over when the iPhone 5 will appear seems to be settled, new speculation has shifted to whether former CEO and Apple stage-master Steve Jobs will show up on what was supposed to be new CEO Tim Cook’s day.
Verizon Wireless has reportedly offered staff at its call centers ‘unlimited overtime’ this Tuesday — the day Apple is set to announce its fifth-generation iPhone. Although recent reports claim the device will launch a week or two after the event, Verizon is “expecting something big to drop THAT DAY.”
Apple’s upcoming ‘iPhone 4S‘ seems to have appeared all over the place over the past few days. Firstly the Cupertino company itself leaked the device within an iTunes beta, then Cincinnati Bell listed it — along with the iPhone 5 — on its website. Vodafone Germany is the latest to claim its share of the free publicity, listing the device on its website with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of storage.
I wish I never sold my original iPhone. Being seen around town using an iPhone with a brushed aluminum back would make others jealous of my uniqueness. The iPhone 4? Dude, that was so 2010. My original iPhone can’t even create folders or multitask, but no one else has one so it makes me like fifty times more awesome than anyone using an iPhone 3GS.
You’re probably snickering at this ridiculous idea that a unique design completely trumps functionality. I don’t blame you. However, a lot of Apple fans are falling into the trap of this same ideology that claims the looks of the new iPhone are more important than the functionality it will bring with it. Many claim that if Apple “only” releases an iPhone 4S it will be a huge disappointment to fans. “We’ve waited 16 months for a new iPhone and all they’re giving us is a minor spec bump? This is crap!”
What some Apple fanboys don’t understand is the iPhone 4S isn’t “just a spec bump.” The new iPhone, regardless of its physical appearance, will be a significant improvement to the greatest phone ever made.
Of course no one wants to be stuck with an ugly phone that looks five years behind the curve, but before rising up in revolt against the iPhone 4S, let’s consider the current state of technology and where the iPhone 4 currently ranks.
Gizmodo’s been locked out of Apple events indefinitely since they bought a stolen iPhone 4 prototype, but that doesn’t mean they are without resources to get scoops: they sent a spy into Foxconn’s new factory in Brazil, and walked out with proof that Apple will unveil a cheaper iPhone 4 sometime soon with the model N90A.
Pictures after the jump!
Ho-hum. Another iPhone. Tuesday’s Apple event is going to be boooo-ring, right?
Well, not so fast. I think that from a milestone perspective, Tuesday’s announcement may be among the most important Apple has ever made.
9to5Mac has dug up a hidden gem in the latest iTunes beta that directly references the iPhone 4S. This is different from all of the other 4S rumors. This time it’s coming directly from Apple itself.
Not only does iTunes beta 9 mention the iPhone 4S, but it also affirms that rumor that Apple’s next smartphone will strongly resemble the iPhone 4 and feature a dual-mode/GSM + CDMA baseband.
Apple is working to secure iCloud music rights for international customers, according to CNET. The iTunes legal team is trying to get international cloud-music rights for October 4th’s iPhone event, due to the fact that Apple is expected to launch iCloud to the public at that time.
Procuring these rights would assumedly give international iCloud customers the ability to re-download music and stream tracks through iTunes Match.
Let’s be honest, typical email clients (like your old corporate buddy Mr. Outlook) are about as fun as a bag full of dead butterflies. When was the last time you got excited to use Entourage or Lotus Notes? Probably never.
Luckily, Sparrow glided into the app-scene with a singular goal to make emailing fun. It’s lightweight so its zippy, yet packed with features no other email app has. The love and energy the Sparrow team put into their app has changed emailing from a dreaded chore into something that is pleasurable and fun.
Yesterday, with great excitement, Cult of Mac launched a new software hub called deals.cultofmac.com. Teaming up with the guys at StackSocial, this new feature will bring Apple fans the best deals on cutting-edge Mac Apps at a price you won’t be able to find on the Mac App Store. We’re starting things off by offering Sparrow, the best mail-app for OS X, for only $6.
To celebrate the launch, we’re giving away 5 copies of Sparrow for free to our readers via a giveaway contest on Facebook. Entering the giveaway is simple, but you gotta play to win.
Here’s how to enter:
This morning, a report surfaced that the next iPhone would come with 64GB of storage for the first time ever. It’s looking pretty solid.
At the same time, rumors have been bubbling up for the last couple weeks that Apple would soon be discontinuing the venerable iPod Classic… and today’s move to axe the iPod Clickwheel Games section of the iTunes Store certainly seems to confirm as much.
That’s a bummer. Okay, sure, iTunes Match and iCloud take some of the hurt out… but what if you want to carry your whole music collection around with you without having to sign up for a data plan? For customers like that, the death of the only 120+ gigabyte iPod is a bitter pill to swallow.
Don’t worry. A new 128GB iPod touch is almost definitely coming.
Fearing its Galaxy Tab slate will never hit shelves down under, Samsung has reportedly proposed a deal with Apple that would allow the Korean electronics giant to launch its iPad competitor in Australia.
While recent reports have quashed the possibility of an all-new iPhone 5 — and evidence has suggested an iPhone 4S will be the only device Apple announces on October 4 — iPhone 5 cases delivered to AT&T keep our dreams of all-new iPhone alive.
For the first time ever since its launch, Apple’s next iPhone could be available with up to 64GB of storage — double that currently available from the iPhone 4 — according to a reliable source.
Right now, it’s looking unlikely that the next iPhone will be a true new design, a real iPhone 5. Instead, it looks almost certain that Apple will announced the iPhone 4S on Tuesday instead… an upgraded device that looks almost identical to the iPhone 4.
That said, the sheer volume of reports that say that Apple has been working on a thinner, teardrop shaped iPhone with a bigger screen are hard to ignore, and many industry folks’ best guess is that that device will come in 2012. And here’s what it will look like.
According to 9to5Mac, the next iPhone isn’t just popping up in AT&T’s inventory system: it’s in Apple’s too, and it’s confirmed to pack a dual-core A5 SoC.
We’ve been awaiting Facebook’s iPad app since Zuckerberg finally changed his mind on the whole thing, and we know it’s ready because we’ve already used it, so why don’t we have it yet? Well, apparently it’s been held up because of some “internal back-and-forth between Apple and Facebook”, but it’s now ready to launch, and will do so imminently — along with Project Spartan.
A China Unicom executive has just confirmed that Apple’s next iPhone will be 4G-capable. But surround air quotes around 4G, because we’re not talking LTE: we’re talking 21Mbps HSPA+ technology. In other words, marketing 4G.
Although Samsung continues to supply parts for a range of Apple devices, making Apple the Korean company’s largest customer, the pair don’t seem to have the best relationship these days. They are currently involved in a number of legal spats which has seen Apple accuse Samsung of copying the iPhone and iPad with its Galaxy range of smartphones and tablets, but before the courtroom battles began, Steve Jobs gave Samsung the chance to put things right.