next generation

The stage is being set for Apple's big iPhone 5 announcement this Wednesday in San Francisco. Colorful banners are hanging up at Yerba Buena Gardens, and as one reader of MacRumors has pointed out, there may be a secret message hidden in plain sight.

Closer inspection of the banners reveals these abstract streaks of color actually look familiar. They are iOS icons stretched out, including Music, GameCenter, iTunes, Stocks and Safari among others. When the photograph above is skewed and compacted, the hidden icons are revealed.

It's pretty much a sure bet that the next iPhone will support LTE-based 4G, but what Apple lovers really want to know is if it will support worldwide 4G. According to those always wily "people familiar with the matter" and the Wall Street Journal, the iPhone 5 will be able to reach 4G speeds in parts of Asia and Europe as well. The WSJ's source did not outline any specific countries, but did add that the next generation iPhone "isn't likely to work with all carriers' LTE networks in all countries, though it wasn't clear which would be left out."

Apple's first device to offer 4G LTE was the iPad 3, however, it is only supported by Verizon Wireless and AT&T in the U.S., and Bell Canada, Rogers Communications and Telus Corp. in Canada. Major U.S. carriers such as Sprint and T-Mobile have been pushing hard to extend their 4G LTE networks, and it's estimated that worldwide 4G LTE will reach around 290 million people by 2015.

After two years of misleading iPhone 5 reports the rumor mill finally got something right! Apple has just sent out invites to the highly anticipated next generation iPhone event, which will take place on next Wednesday, September 12, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts at 10:00 am. iMore and iLounge accurately predicted the September 12th date back in July. Now it's time to see if other predictions such as an iPad mini announcement, or an entire iOS refresh turn out to be true.

The most interesting thing about the invite pictured above is the shadow being cast by the number 12. Many people believed the next generation iPhone would not be called the iPhone 5 because it’s a sixth-generation device. It was assumed that Apple would drop the numerical suffix and call it the "new iPhone", just like they did with the third-generation iPad. However, the number 5 shadow pictured on the invite seems to suggest Apple will be sticking with the fan branded name "iPhone 5".

We've come to expect Apple to launch new and improved mobile processors in iPads lately, then move them over to the iPhone. Well if the photo below is for real, the iPhone 5 will feature an A6 processor, one step ahead of the A5X found in the Retina display iPad.

The image was picked up by AppleInsider and is poor quality. With some enhancement, the A6 marking can clearly be seen on what is purported to be the iPhone 5 logic board. If authentic, the image is the first to leak of the next generation iPhone processor.

With all of the iPhone 5 rumors floating around, improvements to AirPlay don't sound too interesting on the surface. Some iPhone owners just wish that Apple's wireless streaming technology worked better in general. Well now The Telegraph reports that component manufacturers are getting ready for a major change to AirPlay.

The new version is called AirPlay Direct, and it's expected to launch this fall with iOS 6 and the next generation iPhone. The term AirPlay Direct is not even final as Apple puts the finishing touches on its media event planned for September 12. Currently, AirPlay requires a Wi-Fi network and compatible streaming device.