What’s going on with Apple’s next super smartphone handset? While Apple will neither confirm or deny rumours, there’s a lot of talk going around that the next iPhone will find its way to store shelves in the next two months.
If you can’t work out which smartphone will be your next upgrade path (or first, if you’re a first-time buyer), the rumours are looking strong for Apple announcing a new iPhone model between September 12 and September 16, with release roughly one month later.
That sounds reasonably logical, especially given that the next Apple mobile operating system – iOS 6 – is expected to launch with the iPhone 5 in Autumn, which we’d say is September some time.
The new Apple iPhone 5 is expected to have a slightly bigger 4 inch screen, longer than the 3.5 inch we’ve seen on Apple’s iPhones since they first came out in 2007. You can probably expect a new body design, and previous rumours and leaks have suggested a new iPod dock will be gracing the iPhone series, as well as Near-Field Communication (NFC) and high-speed 4G LTE connectivity.
While the iPhone 5 is almost guaranteed success, Apple’s competitors won’t be leaving it alone, pushing out quite a few contenders, some of them in the lead up to the release, from what we hear.
We also hear that Samsung is considering releasing at least one follow-up to the Galaxy Note before the end of August, possibly to tempt people with a bigger screen that could be as large as 5.5 inches, and we’re still waiting for a new range of high-end LG smartphones to hit the market.
Currently, LG has only released four budget handsets for 2012, though there was certainly a more impressive line-up announced at Mobile World Congress in February, so it’s likely that Australia will see some new high-end smartphones in the next few weeks, like the Samsung Galaxy Note competitor, the LG Optimus Vu.
Sony’s flagship 720p Xperia S handset is already out there waiting for people to play with it, and Motorola is one of the few companies that hasn’t released a high-definition smartphone locally, though that should change soon.
All up, it should be an interesting couple of months, whether you plan on waiting for the iPhone 5, sticking with what you have – or going with something else altogether.
