Are you tired of those annoying articles that claim the next iPhone will have a holographic keyboard, see through chassis or other crazy absurdities? Well, we’re tired of those articles too. They merely serve as click-bait articles which place ad impressions over quality news. In this article we hope to compile all of the information about the iPhone 5S and provide meaningful sources that you can trust.
iPhone 5S Release Date
According to analyst Maynard Um of Wells Fargo Securities, the iPhone 5S will be released in September 2013. This theory is backed up by Apple’s previous iDevice trend; since they released the iPhone 5 and 4S during the fall as well. However, what everyone isn’t sure about is whether the new iPhone will be an iPhone 6 or an iPhone 5S.
In 2011, everyone was dubbing the next iPhone the “iPhone 5,” yet were disappointed when Apple released an iPhone 4S instead. This time around we might be speculating a iPhone 5S, when Apple may choose to release a brand new model. That’s what no one is really sure about.
An iPhone 5S would mean that the body of the phone remains the same with slightly different tech specs. The processor will be faster, the camera will be slightly better, the touch-screen might support 10-points, the home-button may be updated to include a fingerprint scanner, etc. An iPhone 6 on the other hand would include major updates such as:
- A lighter and thinner body
- NFC chip
- 128GB models
- Gesture controls and no home buttons (according to Business Insider)
- Bigger screen (according to analyst Peter Misek)
- 13-megapixel sensor (according to Techradar)
- Quad core A7 processor (projections based on the general processor evolution over the last iPhone models)
- Eye tracking (according to Business Insider)
- and much more!
However Apple has been known to slowly trickle their product features over the years instead of overwhelming users with too many features. The added benefit of this is that it also makes users want to upgrade to the next generation iPhone. If all features suddenly appeared on the phone, users may not update for many years; whereas trickling features insures they come back year after year.
According to a document leaked by nowhereelse.fr, the iPhone 5S might actually be revealed during June’s WWDC. Although that’s very unlikely.
iPhone 5S Features
The iPhone’s home button hasn’t been changed since it was first released in 2007, which leaves many speculating that it’s time for an upgrade. Cult of Mac reported that the iPhone 5S could come with a sapphire crystal capactive touch home button. This is based off a direct source from Taiwan. The Taiwanese source also said that this wouldn’t be the first time that Apple used sapphire crystal in their devices. The iPhone 5 already has a sapphire crystal camera lens, which is second to diamond when it comes to being scratch-proof.
Since the current home button is the part that fails the most in previous iPhone models, it would make sense to replace it with a reliable alternative. In addition to replacing the physical home button, Apple will also get another opportunity in upgrading their home button. They may use the fingerprint scanning technology they acquired when they bought AuthenTec in 2012.
Possible iPhone 5S Fingerprint Scanning Technology Which Was Acquired By Apple in 2012
Fingerprint scanning would enable users to save a lot of time on credit purchases and other logins. They could simply touch the home screen to authorize a purchase instead of typing in a long password. This would significantly improve security as well as user experience, leading to more purchases and app interactions.
Not to mention that Paypal’s chief information security officer, Michael Barrett, pretty much confirmed the fingerprint feature in the newest iPhone when he said this at an Interop keynote:
There is going to be a fingerprint enabled phone on the market later this year.
He also said:
It’s widely rumored that a large technology provider in Cupertino, Calif., will come out with a phone later this year that has a fingerprint reader on it.
If that’s not enough to convince you about iPhone 5S’ fingerprint scanning possibilities, I’m not sure what is.
iPhone 5S Display
According to a Chinese site, weiPhone.com, Apple will double the pixels of the iPhone 5S’ display. They also claim that the iPhone 5S will have a narrower bezel.
According to sources, iPhone 5S (or iPhone 6) or to have a more narrow screen frame, is now preparing, will ship in September. In addition, the product also has a screen 1.5 million pixels, compared to nearly 730,000 iPhone 5 the number of pixels, if not the screen size continues to increase, the resolution will be greatly improved.
If these reports are accurate that means that the new iPhone will feature a pixel density of 489 PPI. However it’s unlikely that Apple is going to release another resolution increase. The iPad mini and iPhone 5 have already broken the traditional resolution specs and ratios. Developers were burdened with having to modify their apps to support the iPhone 5; and it’s highly unlikely that Apple will do that again any time soon.
Although competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S4 already have phones with 441 PPI, there haven’t been any definite source stating Apple resolution plans.
iPhone 5S Case
Although there are plenty of rumors out there about the new iPhone having a new case design, there aren’t any sources backing this up. Not to mention that some sources even report an entire new iPhone size coming out, which would effect the display size as well.
Above you can see a really silly example of an “iPhone Math” model that some people (and reporters) believe Apple will release. John Gruber has been the first to come out and say that the iPhone Math is probably just a fairy-tale. He mentions that:
- The rumors behind the iPhone Math are based on an English translation of a Chinese newspaper basing its report on a Taiwanese newspaper report.
- Not even Apple engineers know the name of upcoming Apple devices. Why would a Taiwanese source have access to the name? Especially when all devices come with a “iPhone” or “iPad” logo on the back with no other name identifier.
- The iPhone Math’s display report isn’t clearly explained. It doesn’t mention plans for the display size or software accommodation. The iPad mini’s resolution rumors mentioned both of these factors; and ended up being accurate.
While it’s entertaining to look at these “iPhone Math” rumors; don’t bet on Apple changing the next iPhone’s case. Techradar does report that iPhone 5S might come in different colors; just like the iPod Touch 5 does.
iPhone 5S Camera
Since a lot of competitors already offer high end cameras (look at the Sony Xperia Z or Samsung Galaxy 4 for example), speculators expect the iPhone 5S to feature a 13MP camera. One of these speculators is Ming-Chi Kuo, who is an analyst with KGI Securities. However there’s no doubt in anyone’s minds that the new iPhone 5S won’t bring a powerful camera to the phone market. That’s just simply a given with Apple’s iDevice releases.
iPhone 5S NFC Chip
Near Field Communication (NFC) allows people to pay for things by swiping their phone over a sensor. Although people have been guessed Apple would include an NFC chip in their iPhone 4S and iPhone 5; it never became a reality. Today, people are still guessing (and hoping) that the next iPhone will feature NFC. However there isn’t any reliable source confirming speculating an NFC chip addition to iPhone 5S.
During Apple’s 2013 April conference call, Cook responded to a question about mobile payments, saying that:
I think it’s in its infancy.
I think it’s just getting started. Just out of the starting block.
So don’t bet on seeing this technology in the iPhone any time this year.
iPhone 5S Wireless Charging
There seems to be some rumors about Apple providing a wireless charging features in their next iPhone. This speculation is created by the fact that Apple filed a patent last month for a “Wireless Power Utilization” that uses near-field magnetic resonance (NFMR).
However it’s important not to get too excited by this bit of news. Apple is very unlikely to include wireless charging in the iPhone 5S. Tim Cook is dubious about NFC even though it’s been around for a couple of years now. It’s unlikely that he (or any other engineer at Apple) would approach something such as wireless charging this early on. If NFC is in its “infancy” as Tim Cook says, then wireless charging hasn’t even been conceived. The fact that Apple patented a new wireless charging method just means that they are planning on improving the current system: and integrating this feature in the iPhone 6 or the next iPhone after that.
Other iPhone 5S Rumors
According to Techradar, Apple might include a proximity volume control in the iPhone 5S. This would work by increasing or decreasing the volume of the speaker based on the distance from the user’s ear. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has already approved Apple’s patent for “Adjustment of acoustic properties based on proximity detection.”
As for the operating system, it’s been confirmed that everything is being redesigned to be more “flat.” iOS currently uses a skeuomorhpic design which focuses too much on tacky leather, wood, and other textures. Skeuomorhpic design is a general term for designing something while basing it on something else. For example, the Newsstand app in iOS 6 has wood “shelves” although there is no reason for such design chocies.
iPhone iOS Skeuomorphism
According to a Fast Company report, Steve Jobs went as far as designing Mac’s iCal leather stitching after his own private jet’s chairs. This type of design mentality wasn’t something openly embraced by Apple designers:
“It’s visual masturbation,” says one former senior UI designer at Apple who worked closely with Steve Jobs. “It’s like the designers are flexing their muscles to show you how good of a visual rendering they can do of a physical object. Who cares?” –Fastcodedesign.com
“There was lots of internal email among UI designers at Apple saying this was just embarrassing, just terrible.” –Fastcodedesign.com
There are a lot of sources suggesting that the next iOS version will feature a “flat design.” This flat design move is being pushed byJony Ives. Although Jony Ives is Apple’s head hardware designer, he has recently been working on iOS 7.
The redesign could also include a new lock screen. You can see some of the most popular iOS 7 mockups below:
Pieter Goris’s Mockup
Manu Gamero’s Mockup
Article written by Octavian Ristea.