Apple rumored to release fifth-gen, SIM-less iPhone with 8MP camera by early Aug.

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
A new rumor pegs a late July to early August release timeframe for Apple's anticipated fifth-generation iPhone, said to include an 8-megapixel camera and a SIM-less design that will not be a major departure from the current iPhone 4 design.



Citing an anonymous source, Macotakara reported Monday that the next iPhone will have the same form factor as the iPhone 4, and will use an ARM Cortex-A9 processor. The report said it is "not confirmed" whether the new processor will have a single CPU or is dual-core.



The report also said the handset will have an 8-megapixel camera, and a SIM-less design along with 3-4 internal antennas that will allow the device to serve as a "world phone" compatible with both GSM and CDMA networks. That would allow the same hardware to run on both AT&T and Verizon networks in the U.S.



The report claims that the device, which will include a Qualcomm chipset, will be released at the end of July or in early August. While later than usual, that release date would be sooner than the fiscal 2012 claim the same site made back in March.



Finally, the report claims that Apple's next "major new handset" will arrive in the spring of 2012. A spring release for a so-called "iPhone 6" was previously suggested in April, in a Japanese newspaper report that said Apple had selected Sharp to create next-generation low-temperature poly-silicon LCD displays for a thinner and lighter design.



The details in Monday's latest report restate rumors that have previously swirled. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with Concord Securities told AppleInsider in April that the next iPhone will feature "slight modifications" from its predecessor, including a new 8-megapixel rear camera. Other reports have suggested the next-generation iPhone will include both CDMA and GSM radios, making it a world phone.



As for the SIM-less design, last week the CEO of carrier Orange said that Apple will introduce a new, smaller and thinner SIM card in its next-generation iPhone. There were reports last year that Apple was working on an embedded SIM design that would allow users to select a carrier and service plan directly from their iPhone, but it was claimed that those plans upset carriers who felt they could be marginalized by such a move.



Picture quality on the new iPhone is also expected to be improved with a separate component for an improved LED flash. Various reports, including one earlier Tuesday, have suggested the flash will be moved farther from the camera lens to reduce red eye.



Last December, Macotakara correctly reported that Apple's second-generation iPad would have a smaller bezel, a flat back panel, and a larger speaker. The site also revealed that Apple was planning an event to announced the iPad 2 in March.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 52
    prof. peabodyprof. peabody Posts: 2,860member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    A new rumor pegs a late July to early August release timeframe for Apple's anticipated fifth-generation iPhone, said to include an 8-megapixel camera and a SIM-less design that will not be a major departure from the current iPhone 4 design....



    I would say that the "SIM-less" part makes no sense and without that, this is the exact same as every rumour we've heard so far with the exception of the date being (slightly) sooner.
  • Reply 2 of 52
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    A new rumor pegs a late July to early August release timeframe for Apple's anticipated fifth-generation iPhone, said to include an 8-megapixel camera and a SIM-less design that will not be a major departure from the current iPhone 4 design.



    Citing an anonymous source, Macotakara reported Monday that the next iPhone will have the same form factor as the iPhone 4, and will use an ARM Cortex-A9 processor. The report said it is "not confirmed" whether the new processor will have a single CPU or is dual-core.



    Is this saying it will not use the A5?



    Quote:

    As for the SIM-less design, last week the CEO of carrier Orange said that Apple will introduce a new, smaller and thinner SIM card in its next-generation iPhone. There were reports last year that Apple was working on an embedded SIM design that would allow users to select a carrier and service plan directly from their iPhone, but it was claimed that those plans upset carriers who felt they could be marginalized by such a move.



    Imagine that, marginalizing the carriers! I'll vote for that...
  • Reply 3 of 52
    christopher126christopher126 Posts: 4,366member
    I can see Apple leading the way as far as a "world phone!" Makes sense.
  • Reply 4 of 52
    tipootipoo Posts: 1,141member
    "The report said it is "not confirmed" whether the new processor will have a single CPU or is dual-core."



    Dual core CPU's are still single CPU's. Dual CPU's are different, that means two separate dies.



    /pedant



    Anywho, I can't see how it would be anything but the A5, lower clocked/throttled more in the iPhone like the A4 was in the last one perhaps.
  • Reply 5 of 52
    alienzedalienzed Posts: 393member
    What the carriers don't want you to know is that it's consumers that buy phones, not carriers and with Apple's vastly expanded retail presence (including online), carriers 'pushing' the phone won't matter much.

    The only thing Apple can't afford to lose is subsidies, but even if the phone can choose it's own carrier, in the short run contracts will still exist and so subsidies will too.
  • Reply 6 of 52
    winterspanwinterspan Posts: 605member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tipoo View Post


    Anywho, I can't see how it would be anything but the A5, lower clocked/throttled more in the iPhone like the A4 was in the last one perhaps.



    Hopefully Apple doesn't get clever and decide to increase yield on the A5 by fusing off processing cores that don't work thus creating "single-core" A5s for the iPhone...
  • Reply 7 of 52
    dick applebaumdick applebaum Posts: 12,527member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by winterspan View Post


    Hopefully Apple doesn't get clever and decide to increase yield on the A5 by fusing off processing cores that don't work thus creating "single-core" A5s for the iPhone...



    I think they can do that with software/firmware.
  • Reply 8 of 52
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    A lot of the tip-offs about new iPhones seem to come from the cases being leaked by the factory. I guess if the 4S has the same form factor as the 4, it would explain why there could have been no leak up to now but a new phone still coming.
  • Reply 9 of 52
    Verizon is moving to GSM. Slow no doubt - but true. Apple is going to work on and bring a whole new chipset they will need support? Sorry. No. The transition Apple is dancing with now is get Verizon users into iPhone, and until then - Apple will dance. But when Verizon goes GSM - Apple is perfectly ready NOW.



    This article make no sense.
  • Reply 10 of 52
    pokepoke Posts: 506member
    I think the SIM-less design makes sense if Apple can get carriers to sign off on it. Apple needs to persuade carriers that it can do a better job selling iPhones than they can. They may have done that. What could be very disruptive is if Apple can sell the iPhone at a fixed price - say $199 - and get carriers to subsidise based on the number of customers Apple is sending their way rather than on a per phone basis. Then a customer can just select the plan that's best for them straight from their phone. That might mean lowering margins but might also mean selling a hell of a lot more phones.
  • Reply 11 of 52
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post


    Is this saying it will not use the A5?



    It's saying it will be Cortex-A9, just like the A5 in the iPad 2.



    From what I understand it would be behoove Apple to use two cores and then under-clock the device than to use one core at a higher clock speed.
  • Reply 12 of 52
    originalgoriginalg Posts: 383member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by meofcourse View Post


    Verizon is moving to GSM. Slow no doubt - but true. Apple is going to work on and bring a whole new chipset they will need support? Sorry. No. The transition Apple is dancing with now is get Verizon users into iPhone, and until then - Apple will dance. But when Verizon goes GSM - Apple is perfectly ready NOW.



    This article make no sense.



    China's largest carrier uses CDMA technology, and it's a BIG market over there.
  • Reply 13 of 52
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OriginalG View Post


    China's largest carrier uses CDMA technology, and it's a BIG market over there.



    I have no idea how or why this fallacy keeps getting pushed around these forums. China Mobile, with 610,000,000 subscribers, uses GSM for '2G' and a homegrown '3G' and 4G' based on 3GPP standard WCDMA(HS*PA) and LTE, known as TD-SCDMA and TD-LTE , respectively,
  • Reply 14 of 52
    joe hsjoe hs Posts: 488member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    I would say that the "SIM-less" part makes no sense.



    More space for internal components, fewer ports/cleaner-looking device, no need to swap out small pieces of plastic when abroad.



    The "e-SIM" could work similarly to the current system where you can simply select a roaming-carrier from settings (although I believe this feature might not be present in the US).
  • Reply 15 of 52
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by meofcourse View Post


    Verizon is moving to GSM. Slow no doubt - but true. Apple is going to work on and bring a whole new chipset they will need support? Sorry. No. The transition Apple is dancing with now is get Verizon users into iPhone, and until then - Apple will dance. But when Verizon goes GSM - Apple is perfectly ready NOW.



    This article make no sense.



    Poor argument.



    The only question is the comparison between the costs of supporting two separate phones, as they do now, vs one world mode phone. The numbers will determine which they do, not some terrible logic about Apple not wasting their time dealing with Verizon, since they already showed that it was worth it to spend special effort to work with CDMA providers.
  • Reply 16 of 52
    feynmanfeynman Posts: 1,087member
    Just wonder, what does the A and the number mean? At first I thought it was Apple then the generation of the chip (like the G series in G3, G4, G5) but if they go from A5 to A9, surely that's not the case?
  • Reply 17 of 52
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OriginalG View Post


    China's largest carrier uses CDMA technology, and it's a BIG market over there.



    This.



    People, on this forum, need to get over their American fixation. The main reason to go world phone is China. But anyway, it would reduce the manufacturing costs.



    It would also reduce travelling costs for people who travel to these places, if they can get a simless iPhone, and put whatever they want in.
  • Reply 18 of 52
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Feynman View Post


    Just wonder, what does the A and the number mean? At first I thought it was Apple then the generation of the chip (like the G series in G3, G4, G5) but if they go from A5 to A9, surely that's not the case?



    A5 is an Apple code name, A9 is an ARM code name. The names are not related. The chips, of course, are.
  • Reply 19 of 52
    joe hsjoe hs Posts: 488member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Feynman View Post


    Just wonder, what does the A and the number mean? At first I thought it was Apple then the generation of the chip (like the G series in G3, G4, G5) but if they go from A5 to A9, surely that's not the case?



    The  A4 is a custom 800mhz/1Ghz ARM Cortex A8 combined with a PowerVR GPU.

    The  A5 is PoP SoC Dual core 1Ghz Cortex A9, also with a PowerVR GPU.
  • Reply 20 of 52
    cycomikocycomiko Posts: 716member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Joe hs View Post


    More space for internal components, fewer ports/cleaner-looking device, no need to swap out small pieces of plastic when abroad.



    Nothing like being tied into a provider and their horribly expensive roaming charges, when everyone else can purchase a cheap local prepay sim...
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