Apple doesn’t just make tablets, you know. No! It makes phones, too!
We know the iPhone’s on an annual upgrade cycle, so a new one is due by the summer – and that means it could be announced as early as next week.
Despite Apple’s best efforts details of the next iPhone are beginning to leak, but what’s coming and what’s just wishful thinking? Let’s find out.
The iPhone 4G will have a “magic arse”
Some call it “touch-sensitive casing”; we call it “magic arse” – a much better description, we’re sure you’ll agree. Either way, the big rumour is that Apple will bring Magic Mouse-style tech to the iPhone, enabling you to use the casing for things such as controlling games without putting your thumbs over the on-screen action.
MOUSE TO PHONE: It’s the iPhone 4G! Of course it isn’t – it’s a Magic Mouse, but the same multi-touch tech could be coming to the iPhone’s casing
The iPhone 4G will use Bing as its default search engine
It’s no secret that relations between Apple and Google are becoming increasingly frosty, especially now that Google has entered the smartphone market. So will we see Bing as the iPhone’s default? BusinessWeek says Apple and Microsoft are certainly talking about it, although “the discussions could still unravel and may not be concluded quickly.”
The iPhone 4G will have an RFID antenna
Another rumour based on a real patent: Apple filed a patent showing an integrated RFID antenna, which would enable iPhone users to scan packages and dogs, to use their phones as Oyster cards or to pay for things with a quick swipe. Other patents included haptic feedback, which would enable you to “feel” on-screen keys, and fingerprint identification. Of the three, RFID is generating the most online noise.
The iPhone 4G will have more storage
This one’s a no-brainer. We’ve gone from 8GB to 16GB to 32GB, and only a fool would bet against 64GB as this year’s magic number. The flash memory chips certainly exist.
The iPhone 4G will have an OLED screen
A brighter, higher resolution screen was originally rumoured for the iPhone 3GS but didn’t make it, so it’s a shoo-in for the fourth generation iPhone – not least because rivals such as Google’s Nexus One have OLED displays.
The iPhone 4G will have better battery life
OLED delivers better battery life, so this one’s very, very likely indeed. Unless the 4G does have a magic, battery-draining touch-sensitive case, that is.
The iPhone 4G will have a removable battery
We really don’t see this one happening – Apple is removing removable batteries from its laptops – but that hasn’t stopped endless predictions of an iPhone with swappable batteries. We think this one’s a wish rather than a reliable prediction.
The iPhone 4G will have an LED flash and more megapixels
This is a common one on wish lists, but while phones do indeed have LED flashes for better low light photography we’re not sure it’s a deal-breaker: would you really consider a rival phone because it had a flash? A better camera and/or a flash would be nice, certainly, but the rubbish camera in the first few iPhones didn’t exactly hurt sales. Nevertheless AppleInsider reckons that Apple has been hoovering up lots of Philips LED flash components – and by “lots” we mean “tens of millions” – while DigiTimes says Apple has also been shopping for 5 megapixel cameras.
The iPhone 4G will support 4G mobile phone networks
This one’s been kicking around for a while, but we really don’t see it happening. It’s hard enough getting networks to deliver decent 3G coverage; 4G is a long way off yet.
more info @ http://iphone-info.info
more info @ http://iphone-info.info