iPhone 5 rumours hot up once more with spy shots of larger-screened device
Apple's iPhone 5 plans are under the microscope once again, with reports that the device will have a larger screen and an A5 processor, and even a spy shot of a seemingly new iPhone.
Still excited about the iPhone 5? If the device's release slips to autumn as is expected, we've got months of rumours ahead about Apple's next-generation smart phone. This weekend, the speculation hotted up again with reports that the device could have a bigger 3.7-inch screen, and a tapered back like the latest iPod touch. Separately, there's a spy shot of a white device that may or may not be an iPhone 5 with an A5 processor inside.
Conflicting rumours? We got 'em! New tech blog This Is My Next -- home of several recent Engadget refugees -- published the first report over the weekend, slapping down previous rumours that the iPhone 5 would simply be a slightly bumped-up iPhone 4.
Its sources suggest Apple's next iPhone will look "more like the iPod touch than the iPhone 4" with a tapering curvy back. What's more, those sources say the Home button will be bigger and support gestures, and the larger 3.7-inch screen will be almost edge-to-edge, while keeping the current retina display resolution.
Another report this weekend came from 9 to 5 Mac, which puts flesh on the bones of previous speculation that the iPhone 5 will have the same A5 processor inside as the iPad 2.
"Apple isn't taking the next iPhone's A5 power lightly. It already has select developers working on versions of their iPhone applications that take full advantage of the next-generation iPhone's speedier and much more powerful hardware," it explains. "These developers, seemingly from high-level gaming outfits, have been given what is essentially an iPhone 4 but with an A5 processor instead of an A4."
So, not quite prototype iPhone 5s on the loose, but we'd advise any developers in possession of one of these devices to avoid their nearest Bavarian bar for the next few months. Just a thought.
One of these so-called 'iPhone 4S' handsets may have already been photographed and released on to a grateful blogosphere, though. MIC Gadget has a shot of what it claims is some kind of prototype or mockup iPhone, with a slightly bigger screen than the iPhone 4. "Maybe this is the prototype iPhone with an A5 processor that game developers are using to prepare their iPhone 5 apps," the blog sagely notes.
Maybe so. Rest assured, there'll be more spy shots and rumours along imminently. They're like buses, y'know.