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Creative thinkers at French website nowhereelse.fr took an educated guess at what the next iPhone might look like, based on rumors and industry analysis. This image is not of Apple's iPhone 5 — but the real one may end up looking a lot like this.
With all of the iPhone rumors out there, kernels of truth abound. Let's break down each bit — from launch date to possible new carriers and prices, to phone specs — and see what will probably happen, and what we can safely dismiss.
If you don't have time for the play-by-play, here's the best guesstimate of what's to come:
A new iPhone will ship in October, available on AT&T and Verizon — and probably Sprint and T-Mobile, too. It may have a larger screen, but the screen's resolution will be the same. There's a chance it will be called the iPhone 4S, but it could just as easily be the iPhone 5.
Chances of the iPhone running on Verizon or Sprint's 4G network are slim, but it probably will see improved speeds in certain T-Mobile and AT&T markets, even if Apple doesn't go so far as to call it a "4G" phone.
Last, as usual, there will be a cheaper alternative, this year likely to be a specially made iPhone 4 with just 8GB of storage.
OK, so if you're still reading, you want more nitty gritty, or some reasoning behind why I didn't mention certain rumors. Partly, it's Keyser Soze's Law: "A rumor's not a rumor that doesn't die." From experience with Apple, I can tell you that the most persistent of rumors, even the absurd ones, turn out to be true. Some of it is industry awareness: If the screen or network technology isn't ready, it's probably not gonna be in the iPhone.
So, for some applied soothsaying, let's go item by item:
iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S? This naming thing is a bit tricky, but it seems like 4S is a strong contender. Generally, people view this as the difference between a fully new phone and a significant but undramatic update to the current phone. The 4S would make sense, since it would match the 3G-3GS name plan. On the flipside, it sends a signal to buyers that there's something bigger coming later, and Apple hates doing that.
Sprint? T-Mobile? Talk about rumors that don't die. There are lots of credible items about the coming availability of an iPhone on Sprint and — though Apple may not want to launch on a carrier that's in the middle of a takeover — T-Mobile as well. There are no technical barriers to this happening now, so it's just a matter of business. I believe it's time, especially now that Apple is the underdog in the battle against Google's Android.
Thinner body? Again, a moderate jump, like 3G to 3GS, requires no new design. So even if there's a brand new processor, camera, network chipset — all very likely — the current iPhone 4 body could remain. But according to a piece last month in the Wall Street Journal, the next iPhone is not only "thinner and lighter," but more challenging to mass-produce because of its size. But because the sources cited were component suppliers, it's more of a 50/50 shot.
If it is thinner, it may look like the concept rendering shown in the embedded nowhereelse.fr YouTube video.
iPhone 5 Rumor RoundUp! (Full Length) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=015yReGct3g#ws)