iPhone 5 Rumors

Rumors regarding the iPhone 5’s design and release date have been around since the debut of the iPhone 4, but lately several major possibilities have surfaced.
iPhone 5 Rumors
7/28/2011
Updated:
10/1/2015

<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/114536080.jpg" alt="The white iPhone 4 is shown at an Apple Store last May in New York City. Lately rumors have been circling around regarding the iPhone 5's design and release date. (Daniel Barry/Getty Images)" title="The white iPhone 4 is shown at an Apple Store last May in New York City. Lately rumors have been circling around regarding the iPhone 5's design and release date. (Daniel Barry/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1800133"/></a>
The white iPhone 4 is shown at an Apple Store last May in New York City. Lately rumors have been circling around regarding the iPhone 5's design and release date. (Daniel Barry/Getty Images)
Rumors regarding the iPhone 5’s design and release date have been around since the debut of the iPhone 4, but lately several major possibilities have surfaced.

Design

Currently, there are two conflicting rumors about the overall design of the iPhone 5.

Several sources report that the new phone will be largely similar to the iPhone 4 in terms of shape and size but with better features and a faster processor.

Reuters cited “three people with direct knowledge of the company’s supply chain” who say that the new phone will be an update of the iPhone 4, much like how iPhone 3GS followed iPhone 3G. If Apple decides to the follow the pattern it previously set, then an iPhone 4S could be next.

However, several other sources state that the upcoming device will have a completely revolutionary design, mainly based on possible iPhone 5 case designs sent from Chinese manufacturers.

Thisismynext.com’s Joshua Topolsky predicted back in April that iPhone 5 will assume a sleeker shape that tapers towards its bottom, resembling an iPod Touch. The new design is also expected to include a larger screen.

Most experts predict that the new phone will have a bigger home button.

There is also the possibility of Apple introducing both kinds of phones, an upgraded iPhone 4 and an iPhone 5, according to Chris Whitmore, Deutsche Bank analyst.

Release Date

Despite the ongoing debates about the phone’s design, the rumored release date is generally agreed upon to be around September in the fall.

Lowell McAdam, set to replace Ivan Seidenberg as CEO of Verizon, is expecting the release of the iPhone 5 later in the year.

“We had assumed that we would see an iPhone early in the summertime,” he said on CNBC, “We don’t know when the next one is going to come out…but we expect that probably sometime in the fall.”
In addition, AT&T has already begun to prepare for the incoming iPhone 5, according to BGR.

The company has been hastening employee training so that they would finish in time for the phone’s release in September when customer flow will increase significantly. Apple is apparently also looking for more staff to fill their stores in the fall.