Over the past few months since the very beginning of the website, we’ve been collecting any rumors associated with the upcoming iPhone 5 (also known as the new iPhone or iPhone 2012) from Apple. Everything from the likely to the ridiculous has been posted. While we have yet to confirm any of these rumors regarding the new iPhone device, we thought it would be fun to add a few more rumors to the mix and at the same time take a walk down memory lane with the old rumors.
Apple unveiled the slightly-improved iPhone 4S in October 2011 instead of the expected — and very different — iPhone 5. We’re fairly certain that the iPhone 5 — the real deal that Apple fans have been waiting for — is on the Apple menu for 2012. In fact, according to a rumor we published on February 20th, the release date for the Apple iPhone 5 looks to be October 2012, one year after its predecessor.
This rumor seemed to clash slightly with the very next article to reach our pages on March 19. The release date was stated as “July-September quarter,” based on new information obtained. Other rumors hinted at gorilla glass housing, ultra-sonic bonding, quad-core processor, 4G LTE, thinner and sleeker design, and of course iOS 6 with Siri.
The worldwide 4G LTE rumor seemed to find solid ground with our March 23 article, which stated that the new iDevice would support 4G LTE roaming. While this may not be a direct benefit to many users, including Tru SIM users, due to the deployment schedule of some countries, it will nevertheless be a long term benefit. Now it awaits to be seen as to whether or not Apple feels it necessary to include this benefit in their next iPhone. Very likely, considering the new iPad does.
On March 26, we received news that the iPhone 5 could support a bigger screen, which would mark the first time since the iPhone’s creation that the company would increase the display. This rumor was posted some time after hearing about a rumored iPad Mini, so we couldn’t help but wonder at the time if we had run into a kind of rumor cross-fire and if the screens were for the iPad Mini, not for the next iteration of the iPhone.
The article we posted on April 5 went so far as to suggest yet another release date for the device, one that has obviously come and gone: June 15th. It seems more likely than ever that the device will hit in October as the very first article posted about the device predicted.
New touch panels made their way to the rumor roundtable on April 20, an article which hints at a lighter and brighter iPhone 5. The article detailed in-cell multitouch technology and also drove another nail into the “third quarter 2012” release coffin.
May 10 marks the article that was dubbed the first actual “news” regarding the new device, when Apple attempted to gain control of the iPhone5.com website domain from fans. This came as important for a variety of reasons, one of which confirmed that Apple was at the very least considering the iPhone 5 name for its next device.
The larger screen rumor taunted us again on May 16, when it was confirmed that Apple was ordering larger screens. Again, it’s possible that the iPad Mini could be involved, but the rumor seemed to point to the iPhone 5 as the likely beneficiary, which was all but confirmed on the very next article published on May 23, which confirmed the existence of 4.1-inch touch panels.
Rumors regarding a new chip, 1 GB RAM, and a mystery iOS application blessed our pages on May 31, all of which were regarding the iPhone 5 and were accompanied by some pretty specific details.
Quite possibly the most solid out of all the rumors, though, is the June 8th video that showed the iPhone 5’s alleged backing, which confirmed a unibody approach to the new device, along with other details.
Since WWDC the rumors regarding a bigger iPhone have spread like wildfire. Other rumors, like being able to swap out the camera lens and possibly even remove the back panel persist (odd because Apple has always shipped sealed handsets).
And the rumors will keep on coming at a much faster rate, no doubt leading up to the devices “October launch.” Unless of course Apple decides to release it between July and September after all, which, to us, doesn’t seem very likely at all.
What are you looking forward to most about the iPhone 5? Any rumors we haven’t listed yet? Sound off in the comments!