iPhone 5 Release Date: Summer 2013 Touted for Next Apple Smartphone?
After the anticlimactic iPhone 4S unveiling Oct. 4, many continue to set their sights toward the iPhone 5.
Some are suggesting that the next generation Apple smartphone can be expected sometime in 2012, while others are estimating a summer 2013 release.
Research firm IHS is considering both dates, detailing in a statement that an LTE-capable iPhone 5 could debut in late 2012 or mid-2013.
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IHS was the first source to project that Apple would not release a 4G device in 2011.
"Apple declined to offer an LTE-enabled iPhone that would have been more expensive, larger and more power-hungry, and instead opted to introduce a device that delivers nearly the same wireless data speed, but with a superior user experience," said IHS senior principal analyst of wireless communications, Francis Sideco.
Rumors prior to the iPhone 4S unveiling indicated that the iPhone 5 would be thinner and rounder than its predecessor.
Sources suggest that Apple is still developing technology that will allow for LTE speeds in a thinner frame, as each generation of iPhone has been notably slimmer than the last.
Commentators feel that a summer 2013 release for the iPhone 5 is the most plausible estimate.
Many have noted that Apple usually releases new iPhones during the summer.
The iPhone 4 debuted on June 24, 2010; the iPhone 3GS on June 19, 2009; the iPhone 3G on July 11, 2008; and the original iPhone on June 29, 2007.
Commentators have considered the fall, which is usually designated for iPod releases, an indication that the iPhone 4S would be released instead of the iPhone 5.
As a number of the specs rumored for the iPhone 5 have actually showed up on the iPhone 4S, including the faster processor, 8MP camera and no update in the smartphone's outer look, new rumors for iPhone 5 specs are already starting to surface.
Sources are now considering that the iPhone 5 will include LTE capability as well as NFC, near field communication, which will allow the iPhone to a use a digital wallet app similar to the recently released Google Wallet.
