We figured that the next iPhone would be released some time in the fall, and then it looked like we narrowed it down to September. Now, there is further evidence that the iPhone 5 release date will be September, thanks to an employee announcement from Verizon Wireless. You see, they blacked out vacation requests for the period covering September 21 to September 30.

Normally, the reason why they would black out vacation requests is that they expect that period of time to be particularly busy. It’s not out of the ordinary to see blackout periods for Black Friday or for during the Christmas shopping season. So, why would they black out a little over a week toward the end of September? It has to be the new iPhone, right?

All staff at all of Verizon’s retail stores have been banned from taking vacation from September 21 to September 30, calling for “all hands on deck” during that time. Naturally, Verizon wants to make sure that their stores are suitably staffed for the onslaught of iFans wanting to get their hands on the newest iPhone. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if AT&T has launched similar efforts for the same time.

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This is completely in line with current rumors that point toward a September launch and it’s not uncommon for Apple to release a product within a couple of weeks of officially unveiling it to the world. What we’re hearing is that pre-orders on the so-called iPhone 5 (even if it’s technically the sixth-generation iPhone) will start on reveal day, September 12. Among the countries that are expected to be in the first wave of shipments are Canada, the United States, Japan and Germany, though none of that has been technically confirmed jsut yet.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, a lot of specs and features for the new iPhone have already been leaked. We’re expecting to see a display in the 4-inch range with a 640×1136 pixel resolution, a smaller 9-pin dock connector, a centered FaceTime camera, 4G LTE support, a thinner profile, and a two-toned unibody design. There’s probably a quad core Apple A6 processor in there too, possibly based on the Samsung Exynos chipset.

Of course, these are all just rumored specs for the time being and Tim Cook might have a few surprise tricks up his iSleeve.

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It’s pretty much for certain that the new iPhone will be revealed to us next month and we’re fully expecting a larger display, but it looks like the new iOS6 comes with an extra bonus to take advantage of that extra screen real estate.

You see, the current rumor says that the new iPhone will have a 640 x 1136 pixel resolution screen. This gives it the same width as the existing 3.5-inch iPhones, but it adds the extra size in height. And so, using some tweaks to the iOS Simulator application that comes with the iOS Dev tools, the guys at 9to5mac were able to get the rumored resolution of 640 x 1136 to display.

The interesting thing is that when they used this resolution with a simulated iOS 5.1, they still get the same four rows of icons (plus the home dock) that you normally get, except there is more vertical spacing between the rows. Switching to a simulated iOS 6, though, and suddenly that “extra” height was filled in with a fifth row of icons. This offers some confirmation of the newer screen size and resolution, since it didn’t scale properly at other resolutions, but nothing is for certain until Tim Cook tells us it is.

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You may have heard earlier this week that Qualcomm has contracted Samsung to manufacture some of its Snapdragon processors. This is interesting, considering that Qualcomm competes directly against Samsung in the chip industry, even if the North American version of the S III uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. Well, it looks like Samsung is getting an order from Apple too.

The current rumors say that the upcoming Apple A6 quad core processor will indeed be based on Samsung’s Exynos 4 quad core processor. It’s unclear whether this will be essentially the same chip or if Apple has some “optimizations” for its version of the chip. I guess it’s not terribly surprising, since Apple doesn’t manufacture anything of its own, but with all the lawsuits going back and forth between the companies, it is interesting that they’re signing new contracts to work together.

In related news, another leaked photo has indicated that the iPhone 5 will have a 4-inch Retina display. The touch sensors are integrated on the LCD panel itself, helping to make the new iPhone even thinner.

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The next-generation iPhone is still several months away, but the latest set of leaked photos give us a great look at the back of the new iPhone. And then there’s that small dock connector too.

This leak comes by way of a “reliable Chinese parts supplier” and it depicts an aluminum backplate for the iPhone 5. The outward shape is similar to the iPhone 4/4S, but it does appear to be a little more rounded like the original iPhone. Also revealed in the backplate is the smaller opening for the dock connector.

Apple has been using the same dock connector for a very long time now. After switching to innovations like the microSIM, it only makes sense that they’d shrink down the dock connector too. There are also larger speaker grilles, presumably to provide louder or better audio than the current generation.

While the picture at the top seems to show a grey backplate, this leaked photo shows a white version. This also appears to have a clearer indication that the new iPhone will have more of an elongated shape (for the different aspect ratio display) and that the 3.5mm headset jack has been moved to the bottom. I would have preferred if they kept it at the top, personally.

As always, these leaks are not at all confirmed or substantiated, and things can always change between now and when Tim Cook takes to the stage. So, chalk them up to rumor for now, but the iPhone 5 is really starting to take shape.

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It has been the general consensus among most people that the “next iPhone” will have a larger display, but now we’ve got some physical evidence to back that claim. This “leaked” front panel is coming by way of one of Apple’s suppliers.

To be fair, what you see here is the leaked front panel for what is reportedly the next-generation iPod touch. At the same time, it is reasonable to think that the front panel on the new iPod touch will be in line with the new iPhone, especially if both are going to be increasing in screen size at the same time. What’s curious is that the opening in the middle measures 4.1-inches, whereas several current rumors are saying the “iPhone 5″ will have a 3.95-inch screen. And then there’s the Wall Street Journal saying that it’ll be “at least four inches.”

If we take all of these at face value, the 3.95-inch screen could easily hold up, since the display doesn’t have to completely fill out the 4.1-inch opening. You’ll also notice that the relative dimensions are different too, making for a “taller” iPod touch and iPhone. This changes the aspect ratio of the display, from what we can tell, so this could prove problematic for the porting and development of many iOS apps, at least in the short term.

Along with the leaked front panel are leaked images of what we think are the front and rear cameras on the next iPhone. It’s likely that there will be no real difference from the perspective of the end user compared to the iPhone 4S, but the rear module is missing the LED flash.

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Rather than simply vibrating the device each time you touch a virtual button, this system shows a multi-tiered haptics system that is intelligent. The idea is that by having multiple layers that can protrude and recede, you can create raised buttons on a touch-based display. That virtual button, in effect, just became a real button that you can feel is raised up from the rest of the screen.

The applications for this technology are endless, of course, from better gaming controls to geological maps with real 3D depth. The top layer of the screen would presumably be elastic, but it’s still not entirely clear exactly how this works. Either way, is this something that Cupertino is exploring for the next iPhone or iPad? Would it really be as polished as Apple wants it to be?

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The one shown above comes from design student Daniel Bautista. His mockup largely maintains the current iPhone design with the same kind of round volume buttons, but the screen has been stretched to have less of a bezel. The aspect ratio looks a little chubbier too, but the iPhone itself should maintain roughly the same thickness.

The new iPhone mockup shown below is from apfelpage.de, a German site that is a touch more daring with its outlook on the new iDevice. The phone is decidedly slimmer and has curved ends. You’ll also notice that the volume buttons are no longer little round nubs, but are rather in line with the overall chassis. The screen, once again, is closer to being edge-to-edge, at least along the sides. The home button is still intact, but it appears to be touch-sensitive.

One of the more interesting inclusions in the German mockup is the depiction of iOS 6 with a widget-enabled homescreen. This would allow the new iPhone to have similar functionality to current Android smartphones, getting continuous updates on widgets that are larger than single app icons.

We can’t say for sure which way Apple will go with the iPhone 5, so we’ll have to wait until around October when the new iPhone is officially launched.

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Well, it depends on your situation. Wilson Rothman has a decent guide put together on Gadget Box that breaks it down. For example, he’s saying that current iPhone 4 owners can probably skip this update. Yes, you can’t have Siri on your iPhone 4 and you’ll need to make do with a 5MP camera and A4 processor, but the 4S really isn’t that much better than the 4. It’s worth waiting for a true iPhone 5 if you really want the upgrade.

On the other hand, current owners of the iPhone 3G and 3GS could probably stand to get the upgrade. You get a “new” form factor and plenty of more horsepower than what you currently have. Similarly, Sprint customers would probably like the 4S, since they haven’t had an iPhone before. It’s also no saying that WiMAX will be supported in the next iPhone anyhow.

The camp where I belong is that of the Android smartphone and superphone. I only have a Samsung Galaxy S, but especially people with an Atrix, SGSII, or something similar, they probably wouldn’t want the iPhone 4S quite as much. You could make the jump from Android to iOS, but spec for spec, the current crop of dual core-touting Android superphones are on par or better than the 4S.

But that’s just a general idea. What about you? Are you getting the iPhone 4S or are you waiting for the iPhone 5? Maybe you’re waiting to see the Nexus Prime instead?

The post Should you wait for the iPhone 5 or just get the iPhone 4S now? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

This leaked photo comes by way of Weibo in China. From what we can see, the mainboard is distinctly different from the current iPhone 4 and iPad 2, so it’s very well possible that we are looking at the guts of an iPhone 5 (or possibly an iPhone 4S).

It has almost become a foregone conclusion that the next iPhone would be borrowing the A5 processor from the iPad 2, but it’s good to see some visual confirmation, even if it’s not really a reliable or legitimate source. Also in the photo, we notice a 1,430mAh battery pack, which is a minute 10mAh bigger than the battery that currently powers the iPhone 4.

October is right around the corner and all the rumors are pointing toward a new iPhone that month. Then, we can finally lay all these rumors to rest until it comes time to discuss the iPhone 6.

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