Speculation on the new iPhone

[jasoncordelle]

So...lots of rumors stating it'll be X tall, Y wide and have a 4" screen.
Also that it'll be called iPhone 5, "The New iPhone" and just "iPhone"...

Do you
a) believe the rumours?
b) like what you're hearing and seeing?
c) care?
d) have a bunch of hopes and aspirations for the next iteration of the iPhone?

Also - what are your thoughts on the latest rounds of speculation on iOS6?

[ihatezunehd]

I am wondering if apple is going to use a better sound chip then the Circus logic sound chip that is currently being used on the ipod and iphone? The sound is god awful.

[Astro_Digital]

Do you
a) believe the rumours? No
b) like what you're hearing and seeing? No
c) care? No
d) have a bunch of hopes and aspirations for the next iteration of the iPhone? Re-sizable widgets (they can then sue Google for stealing the idea), Something more exciting than a grid of icons (sue Google Again), many different screen sizes, hardware choices, not forcing only Apple content, and it needs to be a lot cheaper.

[kornchild2002]

I hope you are being sarcastic with that part d.

I am actually keeping an eye out for the new iPhone though I'm not really paying attention to the rumors. The websites spewing out these rumors from "super secret inside sources that are 100% accurate yet turn out to be about 30% accurate just because they throw so many rumors that some are bound to stick" are just trying to generate clicks and ad revenue. That's why websites like Cnet and Engadget will have 34957398745 rumor "reports" a day regarding the next iPhone complete with blurry cam shots in tow.

The only reason I am paying attention to the new iPhone is I will be able to upgrade around my birthday (end of August) so I will be getting the next iPhone as a gift when it launches (probably in September) to replace my craptacular Droid X. I still can't believe Google didn't support my phone past Android 2.3 despite it not even being a full 2 years after the launch. Say what you will about Apple but at least they are still supporting their older phones in some way. The iPhone 4 may not get absolutely every update coming with iOS 6 (likely due to the lack of a dual-core processor) but it is still being updated. It's not like Google where they are only support the current phones. Microsoft is even worse with their announcement of Windows Phone 8 as that won't work on any Windows smartphone out now.

[Astro_Digital]

You can still buy the iPhone 3GS good luck updating that.

[kornchild2002]

Good luck? Sure, just plug it into iTunes. It may not get absolutely every aspect of iOS 5 or iOS 6 but Apple is still releasing updates for it to bring new functionality. Much better than most Android Smartphones that are lucky to see one update in their entire lifetime. Even then the update may actually make things worse (as it did for my Droid X making me take it back into Verizon to get a replacement).

[Astro_Digital]

I actually traded away my iPhone 4S because I become bored with the UI in the OS, but still recommend it to many family and friends looking for a solid first smartphone. The Android and Windows Phone devices are getting much better though and with ICS in Android I am finding that more people are looking around as well. (CNET)

This is how I feel.

ICS is great yes it requires newer hardware but I would not want to try to run it on a single core 400Mhz processor. Technology moves on. As CNET said iOS is stuck in the past.

[kornchild2002]

iOS really isn't stuck in the past. Sure, it may not be as flashy as ICS (I wouldn't know, somehow Motorola/Verizon/Google/Jebus decided that my 1GHz phone with 512MB of RAM isn't good enough to run it despite falling well within the minimum reqs for ICS) but it is able to provide a smoother experience. Besides, half the flash that Android offers isn't really worth it. About the only thing that is are the live widgets. Other than that, those flashy features can go fly a kite. Live backgrounds? No thank you, I would rather have my phone last past lunch on a single charge. Fancy animations for opening the app grid? OK, not really sure what that does.

I am not denying that Android offered some innovations and still accomplishes some things better (the updates in the top bar are nice as they don't interfere with general operation) but iOS has been a much more solid performer for me even on hardware that wasn't as advanced as my Droid X (i.e. the 4G iPod touch). There's a lot more to an OS than its GUI and iOS expresses that. Apple has added further innovations with it too. Siri is still by far the most advanced vocal system on any smartphone. Samsung released their version and it isn't nearly as accurate or fast as Siri. Apple's other built-in apps (such as the Camera app) are faster and smoother than ones offered by Google.

Either way, Apple is showing that iOS isn't stuck in the past. It may not have a flashy GUI like ICS or Windows Phone but it still offers improvements over both. Not only that but Apple's support of legacy devices has been a lot better than both Google and MS. Like I said, older iOS devices may not get every new feature in the updates but they are still seeing the updates. MS isn't going to support current Windows Phone smartphones with Windows Phone 8 and ICS has been applied to a small handful of previously released smartphones. Most smartphones are used for a little less than 24 months. Both MS and Google have failed to provide full upgrade support for most of their smartphones in that time period (or even a 12 month timeframe) yet the iPhone 4S, a phone that is going to be a year old here pretty quick, is going to see some major updates with iOS 6.

[jasoncordelle]

Personally, I'm looking forward to refreshing my 4S with iOS6...

I can't see anything compelling as yet in the rumours that abound on the new iPhone that'd make me switch...at least not yet.

[kornchild2002]

It's normally better to upgrade to new iDevice hardware once every other generation (i.e. once every 2 years). That way the hardware and software upgrades are larger and less incremental when getting a new one every year. Not only that but in the U.S., it would cost someone at least $600 to buy a new iPhone every single year. That's way too much money to be spending every single year for such small updates.

[jasoncordelle]

I agree with you on that.

I actually wasn't that enamored with the 4S when I was rocking a 4

The only real advantages I have experienced over owning a 4 have been the 64gb memory and the improved camera. Not that the camera in teh 4 is substandard by any means.

[Appsman]

a) believe the rumors? Yes, only that part that it will definitely comes out within this year.
b) like what you're hearing and seeing? Not entirely. But some rumors are tickling me much.
c) care? Not too much.
d) have a bunch of hopes and aspirations for the next iteration of the iPhone? It should be cheaper and more feature rich. Smartphone's price are going down day by day. Apple should have noticed that also.

[kornchild2002]

Actually pricing of feature rich smartphones hasn't really decreased and some of them are actually higher than the standard $199 price point. The Droid Razr Maxx is one of them. When it launched, it carried a $250 price tag and that definitely isn't the first phone to start above $199. If anything, the various states of international economies are causing the prices of goods and services to increase. I highly doubt Apple is going to have an iPhone 5 start at anything less than $199 as per usual. They normally don't decrease the starting price of their headline devices and, if they do, it's only by a few % and nothing to write home about (ie they aren't going to start with a 16GB iPhone 5 at $99).

[peterthomas]

Apple is one of the companies that hosts most of the rumors of the technology world, from ipod to iphone and and from ipad to ipad mini, you will find tons of rumors about everything related to Apple!

Reason why iphone is better than most smartphones = Even if you're using 3gs, you still get the ios 5 update. Android users are limited to a certain version on different mobile phones.