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iPhone 5S release dates, specs keep pouring in

It's up to Apple now to top or debunk the flood of iPhone 5S rumors, but many of the rumors seem credible.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Brooke Crothers
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Rendering of a champagne-colored iPhone 5S: It will be interesting to see if Apple still has some big surprises in store that analysts and the media haven't covered yet.
Rendering of a champagne-colored iPhone 5S: It will be interesting to see if Apple still has some big surprises in store that analysts and the media haven't covered yet. Shop Le Monde

We have iPhone 5S release dates, colors, and specs. Did I leave anything out?

Oh yeah, I forget to mention that they're all just rumors. But there's little left to the imagination these days when Apple rolls out a new product.

Apple is widely expected to hold an event unveiling the new iPhone on September 10. Japan's Nikkei said sales of the device will begin September 20 in that country, and then Chinese newspapers chimed in with a release date there of either September 20 or late November (due to China's verification process), depending on which report you believe.

Here's what we've heard about prominent specs:

  • Camera: Probably the most important feature for the consumer is a better camera. The latest speculation on the camera claims it will get a larger f/2.0 aperture (that would match the HTC One) with dual LED flash. If accurate, that aperture would be significantly larger than the iPhone 5's. That means more light gets through, improving image quality and low-light performance.
  • Fingerprint scanner/reader in the home button: That technology is likely coming from AuthenTec, a fingerprint sensor technology company that Apple acquired last year. The larger point is the iPhone 5S may mainstream biometric technology, improving electronic payments and making it easier to get music and sensitive data from the cloud.
  • Chips: A 128GB flash storage option is the freshest speculation. That seems like overkill for most consumers but then 16GB seemed like a lot when the iPhone 3G came out. An updated processor, Apple's A7, is also expected. The most salient (rumored) feature is that it's 64-bit. And, remember, the iPhone 4S got the new A5 processor when it was released in October 2011.
  • New 3G/4G standard support: Versions of the 5S (and 5C) may support China's 4G TDD-LTE standard. That could mean a huge boost in market penetration in China (and global market share) for Apple. (That support may also include China's TD-SCDMA.)

It's almost needless to mention at this point that there may be a gold iPhone 5S along with the standard black and white versions. The important point is that it most likely won't be a garish gold but a more subtle champagne color.

I think that about covers it -- for now.