Image of the iPhone 5

Iphone 5 release will be in August 2011

Apple may be planning to release a refreshed, SIM-card-free version of the iPhone 4 with a new 8 megapixel camera sometime in August 2011.

There has been no shortage of whispers and rumors surrounding Apple’s fifth-generation of the iPhone, due for launch sometime in the upcoming months. The latest rumor, reported byMacotakara, suggests that the next iPhone won’t be a significant departure from the company’s iPhone 4, and the major changes will come in the form of an ARM Cortex-A9 based processor, an 8 megapixel camera, won’t require a SIM card, and will be “world phone” capable. It was unconfirmed as to whether or not the new processor would be dual-core or single.

If the rumors are correct, it would mean that a single model would be able to support both GSM networks, such as AT&T, and CDMA networks, such as Verizon. Qualcomm has been pegged as the supplier of the world phone chipsets, and they do have such an offering currently available. However, the “late July or early August” timeframe stated by the site goes against their earlier prediction of a “fiscal 2012 launch” that was made in March of this year.

Macotakara also suggests that the next “major new handset” from Apple won’t arrive until 2012 – sometime in the spring. This timeframe for the potential “iPhone 6” was leaked by a Japanese newspaper in April, saying that Apple had selected Sharp to supply the display technology for the new handset. It’s expected that Apple and Sharp are developing poly-silicon LCD displays that operate at a lower temperature than current models, allowing them to be thinner and lighter.

These recent rumors both agree with and contradict the other whispers that have been circulating around Apple’s newest handset. A Concord Securities analyst covering the iPhone recently reported that the handset will only have “slight modifications” from the iPhone 4, including “a new 8 megapixel rear camera”. Stephane Richard, CEO of Orange, was recently quoted as saying that carriers had been working with Apple to develop a “smaller and thinner SIM card” – which was to avoid using the embedded SIM technology that Macotakara thinks will be in the new iPhone. Carriers largely panned the idea, as they stand to lose quite a bit of control without the SIM card technology being a requirement.

A number of sources have commented on other changes to the rear camera, including moving the flash to the opposite side of the iPhone. This would improve picture quality and significantly diminish artifacts such as “red-eye”. No new rumors came from this report, but it would be a surprise if this plan was deviated from by Apple.

As to whether or not these latest rumors will prove true – Macotakara has been correct in the past. The site previously reported that the iPad 2 would launch with a smaller bezel, larger speaker and a flat back; all of these came true upon launch. Only time will tell if their predictions about Apple’s next iPhone come true as well.

Apple IOS 5 Changes

Apple will present the next major release of its iOS mobile operating system at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, with major changes including the addition of widgets and a completely new notification system.

TechCrunch editor MG Siegler broke the “big news” of “completely revamped notifications and widgets” coming to the next iOS, rumored to be revealed June 6^th at the WWDC in San Francisco. It has long been speculated that Apple has been working on improving the notifications system in iOS, since the hiring of Rich Dellinger in June 2010. Dellinger was the lead architect that designed the fantastic notification system used Palm’s WebOS system, now owned by HP.

Apple has been filing numerous patents of late, a number of which have centered on widgets for touchscreen devices such as the iPhone and iPad. The widgets, like those on other mobile operating systems, would stay “always in sync”, and can provide the user with information about the weather, messages and more.

It’s clear that Apple has large plans for whatever it’s launching at WWDC – be it software or hardware-related. Sources have been claiming that Apple’s media relations team is hard at work pressing journalists from many different countries to make the pilgrimage to San Francisco to cover the conference, as “the software announcements will be huge.” It’s largely believed that Apple will be covering the next iOS – dubbed iOS 5 – in great detail to make up for the lack of a new iPhone launch, which many believe will take place in September, or in 2012.

The report by TechCrunch also alluded to a number of other Apple-related announcements expected at the event. Apple’s “iCloud” service may be announced, which is expected to bring cloud storage for iOS and Mac OS X. In March of this year, TechCrunch reported that cloud-based features of iOS 5 may not launch until this fall, but these might be shown off at WWDC as well.

Sources have also suggested that although Apple sealed a licensing deal with Nuance, there will be no additional voice control features added to the next iOS release. Siegler added his own comments to this rumor, stating “That’s odd since it’s perhaps the most obvious usage, but apparently, in the builds of iOS 5 currently being tested, the little-used feature hasn’t changed at all, we hear.” The report noted that it’s possible that Nuance technology may one day be added to iOS, but rumors point to the deal being struck for “bigger things more core to the OS than that one feature.”

In February, the Wall Street Journal broke a story that Apple was hard at work to integrate “voice navigation” into the next iOS, while the New York Times speculated that Apple is working to enhance voice commands as some users dislike the iPhone’s virtual keyboard.