Invitations
were sent out last week, bearing a number 5, and the phrase "It's almost
here." This has led many of us to conclude that the device to follow the
iPhone 4S will be called iPhone 5 (which, duh). But that's not all we know
about the device. For the famously secretive Apple, this new iPhone is probably
one of the worst-kept Apple secrets ever. So, based on a number of leaks and
reports, here’s what we can very likely expect on Wednesday.
• Slightly larger screen. In a world of smartphones with 5-inch
screens, the iPhone's 3.5-inch display can seem small. It's been reported that
we'll get at least a 4-inch iPhone display that's slightly taller, but not much
wider. The result may mean an extra row of apps on the home screen, and an
overall larger area to view apps, ebooks, web content and videos.
• Thinner. The new iPhone could be thinner than ever
mostly due to new display technology that combines the glass and the touch
layer into one unit.
• Better battery life. One of the things Apple could do with that
extra space created by taller phone? Put in a slightly larger, more powerful battery.
That's long been an Apple priority, and because of the next item on this list,
a necessity for this year's new model.
• LTE networking. This has been an assumption since early this
year when Apple introduced 4G LTE as an option on the latest iPad. True, LTE is
far more complicated to build for because of the variety of frequencies. But
late Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the new iPhone would be
LTE-capable and available worldwide, though, according to the report and those
usual "people familiar with the matter," it "isn't likely to
work with all carriers' LTE networks in all countries, the people said, though
it wasn't clear which would be left out."
• Smaller dock connector. It's been rumored since February that Apple
is replacing its aging 30-pin connector on the bottom of the phone with a
sleeker 9-pin model. This will make room for other components — perhaps 4G
radios — but unfortunately require adapters for older docks and accessories.
Apple is reportedly planning to roll out the new 9-pin model across all iOS
devices.
• Details. We heard about many new features of the
updated software at WWDC in June. Now that Apple has had time to fine-tune the
software and get feedback from developers, we’ll hear more concrete details
about the new stuff, from Apple's Maps and navigation, to Siri improvements,
Facebook integration, to the tweaks to Safari, Photos and Mail, and more.
• YouTube alternative. Apple will no longer feature YouTube as a
default application on all iOS devices, Apple already acknowledged last month.
Expect to hear more about what the YouTube video-watching experience on iOS
will be like from now on.
• More about Passbook. This is Apple's new application that aims to
duplicate the part of your wallet that holds everything except cash and credit
cards: tickets, boarding passes, gift cards, reward cards, coupons, and travel
reservations. Details about participating companies have been dribbling out,
but we should get solid details regarding which airlines, hotels, stadiums,
amusement parks, coupon-issuers and others that are officially on board with
Passbook.
• App Store redesign. There's going to be a new look and new design
for the mobile App Store. Emphasis will be placed on app recommendations
through Apple's genius function, and will look a lot more like Chomp, which
Apple bought earlier this year.
• Changes to search. This is a longshot, but since Apple's been
busy excising its default apps list with anything Google-related, it wouldn't
be a stretch to think Apple might move away from Google as the default search
in the mobile Safari browser. It would be silly to remove Google outright, but
Apple could easily make Google just one of many options for users to select for
search, including Siri, Bing and other third-party sources.
No comments:
Post a Comment