Here we go again: it’s new iPhone day. In just under 6 hours we’ll finally get to feast our eyes on the new iPhone which has been the subject of intense speculation for months now. From rumblings it was the last phone Steve Jobs worked on, to whether Apple would radically change the design, the iPhone 5 rumour mill has been been the most intense since the very first iPhone.
So what can you expect today? Well you can’t guaratee anything with Apple, but the steady leak of pictures, parts and mockups over the last 6 months has given us a good idea of what Tim Cook is expected to unveil today. But as with anything Apple related you just don’t know until the day of the big unveil.
The New iPhone 5
The star of today’s show is obviously the iPhone 5 and we expect this new model to be radically different to anything that has come before it – ever more than the iPhone 4. Numerous leaks and report suggest Apple is finally ready to super-size the world’s most popular smartphone. Now they’re not going to go as far as the Galaxy Note, but it’s thought that new iPhone will be sporting a 4-inch screen with a completely new aspect ratio, something more akin to widescreen. This could also mean the infamous four apps on a row will increase to five.
Besides the larger screen, the next major addition with the inclusion of 4G compatibility. The new iPad paved the way for this and we’d bet our house that Apple will make the jump with the iPhone 5 too.
The major changes don’t’ stop there, though; it’s been widely reported that the classic 30-pin connector will see a radical change from a 30-pin connector to a sleeker 19-pin connector. While it might frustrate those of you who have spent money on speaker docks and other accessories the replacement will become the de facto connector for all future iDevices. There’s likely to be a wealth of options to allow you continue to use your old 30-pin accessories – so don’t worry too much about compatibility yet. But whatever you do, don’t go and buy any new accessories today.
Now we get into the realm of maybes; lots of smartphone companies are beginning to support NFC chips, which is a basically a new version of Bluetooth. NFC offers effortless “touch” pairing with headsets and speaker docks, but is still fairly unknown outside the tech fraternity. While many of the latest Android handsets come with NFC. It’s not clear whether Apple will want to support a feature that is still relatively unknown and unused – but don’t be surprised if it finally does make its way to the iPhone.
Another interesting rumour that has been doing rounds is Apple might finally be ready to ditch the current white earbud headphones for someting a little more 21st century. Its been rumoured they might replace the classic earphones with all-new vented in-ear design, after a new patent was unearthed this month.
Finally, there's the on-sale date, which we can say with almost complete certainty will be Sept. 21. When Apple unveils something on a Wednesday, the most common release date is the following Friday (almost every iPhone has launched on a Friday)
New iPods, iOS 6 & iPad Mini?
Whenever a new iPhone makes an appearance you can safely assume and new version of the iPod touch might be on its way. There hasn’t been a significant update to the trusty Touch since 2010, which for Apple is a very long time. There’s a strong possibility of a new model with the larger screen, thinner design and new 19-pin connector. And if that happens don’t be surprised if new Nanos and Shuffles make the jump to the new connector too.
iOS 6 is the brains behind the entire iDevice family – while it was officially unveiled a few months ago it actually hasn’t made it out of beta yet. Today Apple will flesh out more details on its new features, Siri’s new abilities and when it will be available for current iPhone users.
One more thing……
Apple has a habit of leaving big announcements until the very last minute of their keynotes, coining the infamous Steve Jobs phrase “one more thing”. This year’s ‘one more thing’ could be the iPad Mini. Now we’re not going to go over Steve Jobs’ personal feelings about small tablets again, but it’s obviously there is a market for cheaper tablets. The only way we can see Apple make a cheap tablet is by shrinking the current iPad. And from recents reports and leaks it almost certain such a device exists, but the question remains will it be unveiled today? Or will it be left for another event which is rumoured to take place in October? All we know is, one way or another, we’ll know today.