Rumors regarding the next generation Apple iPhone, popularly dubbed as iPhone 5, are swirling in the blogosphere. The latest rumor is that the device will sport a bigger display, will be thinner, albeit heavier, than the current iPhone, and will pack a 3D camera. The device, our tipster claims, also comes with "AirShare" feature that will allow data/files to be transferred to the PC with the "flick of fingers."
A tipster, who wished to remain anonymous, told us that a family member of his, who works at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, brought home a device that looked like an iPhone but it was "different" from the iPhones released in the market so far. The tipster handled the device and noted that "on the back it said something like XXGB, and all the serial codes were like X's."
"I turned on the phone and in the top right corner it looked like a counter was going and below it, it said CPU and showed a percent," the tipster said.
And there's more. The tipster further claims that the new iPhone is "taller" than his iPhone 4 and the "screen is a bit larger too" (we won't be surprised if iPhone 5 does feature a 4-inch screen).
The new iPhone also felt a bit heavier than the iPhone 4 but it wasn't "noticeable." The device was "a bit thinner" than iPhone 4.
At the bottom there are "two circle speaker grills" and one of them was for microphone, the tipster presumed.
The tipster said he used some apps including passbook and maps (note: it appears the device is running on iOS 6, which debuted at the WWDC 2012) and found that the device was overall "faster."
The camera, the tipster said, had a 3D button at the bottom. Upon tapping it, it brought up two options "like a camera then a map." When the tipster snapped a photo of some flowers (see in the pic below), a map icon appeared and "it showed a list of flower shops near my area." "My iPhone 4 runs iOS 6 beta...but when i used maps it never did this," he said.
The camera, the tipster said, can take 3D photos and "when you play the video back...it's really cool." The front camera, he added, was located on top of the speaker at the center (note: in iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, the front camera is located adjacent to the center speaker).
Some other things the tipster shared:
> On the back, the device boasted of two different colors
> The device could transfer files (and play them) to a connected PC using a feature/app called "AirShare." "What you do it like select a movie or song from your phone and then flick it off the phone with two fingers," the tipster said. It would be pretty awesome if Apple does introduce that feature in iPhone 5. (Note: There's an iOS app called Air Sharing for iPhone & iPod touch By Avatron Software, which has a similar function. Could the 'AirShare' possibly be an Apple-branded app?)
> The device the tipster got his hands on was probably a prototype of iPhone 5 and he noted that the phone got overheated quickly. The tipster said he saw the Apple source speaking to someone over FaceTime and commenting things like "The Blue ribbon was overheating" and "the blue ribbon's 4G connectivity seems to disconnect automatically" (note: though we're still unclear about what the 'blue ribbon' could possibly be for, we're pretty sure iPhone 5 will support 4G LTE).
The tipster sent us an image of the purported iPhone 5. "I had to take a bit off the left because it had some numbers and letters on the side and i think they might have something to do with a serial code and i don't want him (the Apple insider) to lose his job," he said.
The latest report that has come to us is sensational and if there's any ounce of truth in what the tipster said, Apple's next iPhone is going to rule the smartphone market once it launches. The device is expected to debut in fall and hit the market in October.
Stay tuned for more information.
