A faster iPhone 5 with the iPad 2's A5 processor and a higher-resolution camera is expected in September. A new, higher-resolution iPad is also reportedly being tested. The iPhone 5 will reportedly be released with iOS 5, giving Apple's mobile devices a unified platform. A less-expensive "iPhone nano" is also reportedly in development.
Apple's new iPhone 5 is being readied for a September launch, according to news reports. The newest version of the company's hit smartphone will reportedly contain an eight-megapixel camera and a faster processor.
Bloomberg news service reported Tuesday that the iPhone 5 will contain the A5 processor that Apple has been using in the iPad 2. The eight-megapixel resolution is an increase from the current five-megapixel camera in the iPhone 4. The news service, which based its reports on "two people familiar with the plans," also said a new version of the iPad, which incorporates the kind of higher-resolution display found in the iPhone 4, is now being tested. No launch date for the new iPad was given.
iPhone 5, iOS 5
Apple is facing growing competition from Android-based smartphones, while Research In Motion has reported its first quarterly sales decline. According to one industry survey, Apple's worldwide market share will be 18.2 percent in 2011, and Android-powered devices could approach 40 percent.
In April, independent mobile -ad network InMobi reported that, according to its monthly network data analysis, ad impressions on Android devices passed those on iOS globally for the first time.
A faster processor in the iPhone could help speed downloads and applications, and a new operating system, iOS 5, will include easier ways to share media, exchange messages, and other improvements. iOS 5, which was shown at the Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, is expected to be available for all of Apple's mobile devices, giving the company a more unified platform. Currently, each of Apple's mobile devices has a slightly different version of iOS.
Bloomberg also reported that Apple has set the release of the iPhone 5 to coincide with the new iOS. The news service gave support to earlier rumors that the company is creating a less-expensive version of the iPhone for developing countries, using technology, the level of quality in the current iPhone 4, and a chipset that supports both GSM and CDMA.
'Conflicting Reports'
One rumored version of a less-expensive iPhone visualizes it as, essentially, an iPhone nano -- that is, significantly smaller than existing models.
Michael Gartenberg, research director at the Gartner Group, noted that Apple usually releases a new iPhone model with a new iOS version. He also pointed out that, while pricing is one competitive move that Apple could undertake to stave off Android competition, "we've seen a lot of conflicting reports" about whether the company will lower prices or make major changes in design.
Those "conflicting reports" include rumors of a redesigned case that makes the iPhone look more like the iPod touch than the iPhone 4, as well as a screen that leaves virtually no bezel edge and a home button that also serves as a gesture-sensitive receptor.
Based on the company's track record with the iPhone, Gartenberg said, "there's no reason to think that this new iPhone won't do very well."
0 comments:
Post a Comment