Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

The iPhone 5 News Blog News Feed

Laughable: Purported Spy Photos of iPhone 5, “Other” iPhone Prove Nothing

Posted: 27 Jul 2011 12:11 PM PDT


iphone 5 boxesThe sleazebags who fuel the iPhone 5 rumor will stop at nothing to create news out of thin air. The so-called “confirmed” sightings of two iPhone devices being manufactured in China confirm only one thing: some people have no shame.

Today, new purported “spy” photos have surfaced from one of Apple’s China components suppliers that allegedly prove two things: that the next iPhone will indeed be called the “iPhone 5,” and that the iPhone 5 will be accompanied by another iPhone model — ostensibly the iPhone 4s. The photos, which originally appeared on iphone-release.com — a less than reliable news source — feature a hopelessly blurry shot of a workstation with two white boxes, each seeming to feature “iPhone 5” on their sides. The website also supposes that screen parts laying on the desk of the workstation suggest a 4-inch screen.

iphone 5 and 4s supply chain

The second photo in the series show two assembly lines that marked as “A iPhone” and “B iPhone.” iphone-release.com, as well as numerous other tech news websites, are taking this photo as confirmation that there will be two iPhone devices in September.

Even if, in the end, both of these rumors come true, and the next iPhone is the “iPhone 5,” and it has a little bother called the “iPhone 4s,” bear in mind that these photos were still vague and most likely bogus.

First off, it isn’t a stretch to imagine that the next iPhone will be the “iPhone 5,” and Photoshopping a blurry logo on a couple of boxes from some old Foxconn photo is pretty easy to manage.

Second, the assumption that two assembly lines marked as “A iPhone” and “B iPhone” to mean that there will be two iPhones in September is laughable! If you look at the photo closely, you’ll see that there in another assembly line to the right of the picture — for all we know, that assembly line is “C iPhone / D iPhone.” And then there’s one next to it that says “E iPhone / F iPhone.” And so on. Apple is purportedly ordering 15 million iPhone 5 units for the product launch — do we really think that all 15 million of these production orders are being funneled along one line of a dozen or so workers?

C’mon!

Bear in mind that Apple dispatches its Gestapo-esque Worldwide Loyalty Team to all of its partners’ manufacturing plants to ensure that information and photos are not leaked out into the public. Little is known about what security measures the WLT implements in places like Foxconn and Pegatron, but given the fact that Apple obviously has in-roads with the Chinese government — referencing the story this year of Foxconn staffers being jailed in China for leaking iPad 2 specs to case manufacturers — it is highly unlikely that anyone is getting into the plants with cameras, smartphones, mobile phones, or anything else that takes photos.

This is exactly why we need to guard against the temptation to believe the hype of what is to come out in the days and weeks leading up to the iPhone 5′s launch. Using logic, we can assume one thing: with maybe just five week to go before the announcement of the iPhone 5, Apple is not going to allow any real photos of the new device to leak.

And that includes “spy” photos, “iPhone 5 cases,” and Target ads.

iPhone 5 Release Date Rumors Converge On September, And Why Apple Has Time

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 09:25 PM PDT


The stars seem to be moving into alignment for a September iPhone 5 release. Apple has now taken OS X 10.7 Lion off its leash and successfully launched the Core “i”/Thunderbolt MacBook Air. They’re making boatloads of money, and logically, the iPhone, being Apple’s single most popular product and now nearly 14 months without a major refresh, should be next in line, sooner rather than later.

However, as just noted, the iPhone IS Apple’s most popular product, and the most popular smartphone in general, despite the frustration of enthusiasts impatient for an upgrade, so Apple doesn’t have the incentive of flagging market interest spurring them on to get a new model at the door.

The vast majority of iPhone buyers probably are only perfunctorily (if at all) attentive to Apple’s product upgrade cycles, and only hazily, (if at all) cognizant of an imminent iPhone 5 release. So they happily go on buying the iPhone 4 — another reason why Apple is able to get along with a 15 month (or more) iPhone product replacement cycle. The iPhone is becoming commodified, and for the likely vast majority of iPhone owners, it’s just a smart phone that looks cool and does a lot of neat stuff. It’s transitioning from being a tech geek device for the cool kids to a mass-market commodity.

An analogy to this dynamic is what Apple has done to its OS X operating system with version 10.7 Lion. The iOS is an excellent touchscreen device operating system. It’s far from perfect, but it’s arguably the class of the current field. However, it doesn’t translate all that successfully to the keyboard and mouse centric personal computer space, at least in the estimation of a lot of graybeard veteran power or professional users like myself. Regardless, Apple evidently perceives that there are a lot more non-tech savvy potential customers have there then there are power users — doubtless an accurate assessment, So the interests and tastes of the power and professional user minority are being, if not exactly thrown under the bus, at least shifted to the back burner with the “iOSsification” of the OS X user interface and file system. Consequently, we’re faced with the alternatives of either learning to live with the new realities, or moving on to, say, Linux.

Now the latter might be at least ephemerally satisfying in a “okay, Apple, stick it in your ear” sort of way, but the sober reality is that making a switch to Linux would necessarily entail, at least for me, climbing a lot steeper learning curve than will gritting my teeth and learning to live with the angularities of OS X 10.7 Lion, so it’s pretty likely that I’ll persevere, and maybe even learn to like the Lion in the fullness of time. I’m sure there are some positive aspects once you get used to it.

Anyway, the takeaway here is that while I imagine Apple is completely conscious of the fact that a lot of long-time iPhone fans are not amused by the seemingly endless wait for an iPhone 5, Apple is nothing if not notorious for ignoring the opinions of its customers and deciding what’s best for us and when we should get it. There will be an iPhone 5, but it will materialize when Apple decides it’s time, and not before. So far that seems to be working extremely well for them.

There’s of course the alternative of switching to an Android handset, but as with my musing about embracing Linux as a ticket out of Apple’s walled garden, that comes with it’s own set of consequences.

That said, the latest wave of rumors are pretty consistently predicting an iPhone 5 launch in September. The Register’s Rik Myslewski cites a report from the iPhoneItalia site that sugests a U.S. iPhone 5 launch as early as the first week of September. Myslewski also references the PriceGrabber survey that Michael reported on here on Monday finding that 35 percent of US consumers plan to buy an iPhone 5 — 51 percent during its first year of availability, and 30 percent before the end of this year.

ZNet’s Larry Dignan also maintains that the evidence, offhand comments and rumor mill are all pointing to a next generation iPhone in September, and cites Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer saying during the company's earnings conference call last week that ” we have a lot going on in the fall with the introduction of iOS 5 and iCloud. We also have a future product transition that we are not good to talk about today, and these things will impact our September quarter. We remain very confident in our business, our new product pipeline and our momentum.”

 

Leaky Rumor: iPhone 5 Form Factor Returning To 3Gs Aesthetics

Posted: 26 Jul 2011 07:25 PM PDT


iphone 5 photoNewly-leaked images purportedly show designs for iPhone 5 cases. While their authenticity remains a question, the new case designs suggest a form factor for the iPhone 5 that evokes the lines of the old 3Gs. Could Apple be going backward in its chassis for the new iPhone? 

I struggled with whether or not to run a piece here on the iPhone 5 News Blog that even presented this new rumor, as “iPhone 5 case sightings” tend to be the most troublesome. After all, a glimpse at an authentic iPhone case could indeed give us a candid peek into the future of the next iPhone’s form factor.

That being said, it takes very little for a case designer to mock up images like these and present them to some sucker who is willing to believe that they feature case designs based on the iPhone 5′s specs. It’s a little bit harder to actually fabricate a prototype case to further hook said suckers into believing that they have the advance specs on the iPhone’s shape. And given the fact that these new purported photos claim an iPhone 5 that evokes the curvy lines of the old iPhone 3Gs, it would be particularly easy to mock up a fake iPhone 5 case or two.

Ok — I’ve prepped you enough and set the tone for maximum skepticism upon looking at these photos. And unlike Mobilefun, who seems pretty sold on the idea that these images are real, I think that, all in all, they’re just about as cheezy as the earlier photos we saw of the iPhone 5 case with the dual flash holes. I don’t believe that anyone in China, the U.S., or beyond, is getting advanced word on the iPhone 5 specs. I can tell you this because I have worked for a major case designer before, and I am well aware of the mad scramble that even the top case companies snap into to be first to market with new iPhone cases.

iphone 5

Simply put, Apple doesn’t give a crap about helping out consumer electronics accessories companies design their cases in time for the iPhone 5 launch. Remember: Apple makes accessories for the iPhone and iPad too.

That being said, let’s talk about these photos and the possible return to the 3Gs aesthetics.

The squarish, boxy stylings of the iPhone 4 are beginning to look more like an Audi 5000, and just as automobiles returned to the curvy lines of vintage cars in the 90s from their boxiness in the 80s — albeit with a modern twist — so too may Apple be moving back to a dramatically curvy design.

It may pain you to imagine the notion of the iPhone 5 “looking like the 3Gs,” but I don’t think that it will be akin to a step back in terms of aesthetics. My guess is that the curvy nature of the iPhone 5 is going to be much more pronounced than the 3Gs — I think those glass-cutting machines may play a big role in its design. I also think that LiquidMetal alloy is going to be used in the new design, and not just the plain old aluminum.

In this way, I envision the iPhone 5 to be a real aesthetic masterpiece of glass giving way to metal giving way to glass again, all in an elegant design that might be fashion-forward enough to make it difficult to even design a conventional case for it.

Think ergonomics and style.

Why do I think this? Because all in all, smartphones are fast becoming very similar-looking: rectangular slates with rounded edges. Form factor will play a vital role in setting the iPhone 5 apart from all the other smartphones out there, and so it’ll take some supple lines to make it a success.