New details have emerged from AppleInsider about the next generation iPhone according to a report issued today by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with Concord Securities.
Apple will make only ‘slight modifications’ to the current iPhone 4 design but an improved antenna – perhaps a protective coating to eliminate the grip of death issue? Kuo also reports that the new phone will have the same A5 processor that runs the iPad 2, as is expected, as well as an 8 megapixel rear camera which should dramatically improve the already great camera. Reportedly the iPhone 5 will also include a Qualcomm baseband that supports both CDMA and GSM. This is a no-brainer design decision as well which will give Apple a unified platform and improve economies of scale in manufacturing.
Kuo has some credibility since he correctly predicted the iPad 2’s screen resolution and lower-quality cameras, as well as the spring release of the white iPhone 4, which Apple has confirmed. Finally, Kuo gives more weight to the rumor that the iPhone 5 will not go into production until September with a ship date during the October quarter, just in time for the busy Christmas shopping season.
I believe this report is spot-on. The iPhone 4 is a great design and Apple really has no incentive to dramatically change it – apart from putting antennagate behind. The better camera and faster processor are logical improvements that should be enough to keep demand for our favorite smartphone high and LTE, the next generation of mobile phone standards, is still too new to be rolled out worldwide. We won’t see that until iPhone 6 sometime in 2012.
Get ready for October and be prepared to choose from either black or white on day one.
