next generation

Another day, another next generation iPhone prediction. This one seems to make sense, at lease based upon historical Apple iOS event dates and iPhone hardware announcements. Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray calculated the number of days between these two events for the past three years. Also listed in the chart below from AppleInsider is the actual iPhone ship date.

Extrapolating these numbers based on this year's iOS event in San Francisco scheduled for June 6 points to an August 24 iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S announcement. This would place the shipping date for the new hardware squarely in the middle of September. These predictions mesh well with previous information we've heard over the past few months.

Despite the rampant rumors surrounding the next generation iPhone, thanks to Verizon Wireless at least two points of speculation have been cleared up. Thanks to an interview of the Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo by Reuters, hardware and data plan details for the iPhone 5 have been divulged. First the hardware: it's widely known that the Verizon iPhone 4 already has a hybrid wireless modem installed, making it possible to connect to GSM or CDMA networks.

Currently the chip is locked into CDMA mode for the Verizon network and can't be used on GSM networks in the US or overseas. In contrast, the AT&T model iPhone 4 has only a GSM modem. Shammo explained that Apple's next hardware release would take place on both carriers simultaneously, indicating that the hybrid chip would be installed and activated for use on both network technologies.

Apple could be setting its sights on a feature well-known to Android smartphone owners, the over-the-air (OTA) update. Currently iPhone users are required to connect their handsets to a computer and deliver operating system updates via the iTunes application. Lately these updates have been around 600 megabytes, containing a new version of iOS in its entirety.

Moving to OTA updates would avoid the entire process of having to be around a computer to get the latest iOS features and fixes, but would also require Apple to reduce updates in size significantly. 9to5 Mac reveals that Apple and Verizon Wireless have been in talks over enabling OTA updates for iOS for over a year.

Evidence of a delay in the normal summer iPhone launch schedule continues to surface, pointing to a possible fall release for the iPhone 5. Apple is silent on the issue, however according to a report from news site MacRumors, AT&T is not expecting a new model in June or July. The information comes via a MacRumors reader who phoned AT&T to ask why his upgrade eligibility date had been moved back five months.

The responding customer service representative explained with this statement, "Apple has informed us that they do not plan to release the iPhone in the June to July timeframe, though there will be a newer version in the future. Unfortunately, we have not been given a release time for the new phone." The rep continued by explaining that the release date for the iPhone 5 would be posed on the AT&T website as soon as they were informed of the date.

A prototype of the next iPhone has allegedly been revealed in photos by MIC Gadget. Some are calling the model an iPhone 4S since it relies heavily on the current iPhone design for its form factor. Seen below, the next generation iPhone in white features a larger screen than its predecessor.

Although the authenticity of the photo can't be assured, this image corroborates several prior reports of a smaller bezel and edge-to-edge screen, cited as 3.7 or 4 inches compared to the current 3.5 inch screen on the iPhone 4. The model pictured above looks like it could be thinner than current iPhone models as well.