The iPhone 5 is just around the corner and the anticipation of the new Apple smartphone might break record sales upon its release, but based on rumors, are the features worth giving up on the iPhone 4S?
The iPhone 4S has received positive reviews from critics, notably from Siri, and the voice assistant will no doubt receive an update such its rumored to comprehend more languages and do commands despite accents.
The iPhone 5's screen will increase by 0.5-inches compared to its predecessor, which features a 3.5-inch screen. The iPhone 5 is also rumored to have Retina Display and at least a resolution of 1136x640.
As for networks, the iPhone 4S is available in 2G and 3G networks and the iPhone 5 is expected to follow suite. The new advantage is the new Apple smartphone could carry 4G LTE, which has been growing for all its mobile carriers: AT&T, Sprint, and especially Verizon which has the largest 4G LTE coverage in the US.
Internal storage will see an upgrade from the 512 MB RAM seen in the iPhone 4S to a speculated 1GB RAM for the iPhone 5.
Cameras will see a mixed improvement. Rumors speculate the rear-facing camera will stay the same with eight-megapixels, the same as the iPhone 4S. The front-facing camera will improve with two-megapixels.
iPhone 5 is expected to have a stronger battery capacity compared to previous iPhones with eight hours of battery life for 3G users and 14 hours for 2G. Its battery life is expected to have a capacity of 1140mAh, which is 10mAh higher than the iPhone 4S. The higher the mAh, then the device will be "stronger" and "healthier," according to Webopedia.
The operating system (OS) will include the new iOS 6 compared to the iOS 5 or 5.1. The new OS will feature new apps, notably to its maps and YouTube systems. The YouTube app has been removed as a pre-installed app, but as Latinos Post reported yesterday, Google has worked on a new app to make YouTube an easier feature for Apple devices.
Another change from the iPhone 4S is the dock port. The iPhone 5 devices are reported to no longer accept the 30-pin connector used in other Apple products. Mixed reports, such as KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated the new dock port will have nine to 19 pins, while other sites are sticking to nine-pins.
Wireless connectivity has been difficult to confirm. The iPhone 4S does carry Bluetooth and WiFi, and the iPhone 5 will feature the same, but it is the Near Field Communication (NFC) addition that's up in the air. NFC has been confirmed then debunked continuously in the last month based on leaked designs of the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 5 is expected to today (Sept. 12) for AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon with a price tag of $800 without a standard two-year contract but can go as low as $199 when signing a contract. FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger told Forbes, the iPhone 5 launch may be the biggest event in Apple's history and expects to sell as many as 250 million units during its lifetime.