Rumors

The next generation iPhone rumors are steadily increasing while orders for the iPhone 4 are decreasing.

Tech blogs have the iPhone 5 arriving this August, September, November and not at all. There are rumors that Apple's next phone will be the iPhone 4S, an iPhone 5 with new case, and everything in-between, but the closest report that I've seen that even supports a next generation device being released in the near future, comes from the DigiTimes.

The Times reports that Taiwan-based PCB companies are lowering quotes for Apple orders.

"Despite the third quarter being a traditional peak season for the consumer electronics industry, Taiwan-based PCB suppliers have cut quotes for the quarter by 10% on average for their orders placed by Apple, according to industry sources."

Minutes after chasing down another next generation iPhone rumor, BGR hit us with this iPhone 5 bomb.

BGR claims to have confirmed that the new iPhone will not be an upgraded iPhone 4 as originally rumored, but that the next iPhone will feature a major case redesign. The details are slim, but a source revealed that Apple will break tradition by announcing the new device in August, followed by a late August launch.

BGR's tip seems to support a previous report that the iPhone 5 will feature a teardrop case design, and use the same dual-core A5 processor found in the iPad 2.

Despite press invitations to publications in the UK and Australia, it looks like Apple's WWDC 2011 announcements will be limited to the future of iOS and Mac OS X. The next generation iPhone will certainly be running iOS 5, the next generation mobile operating system from Apple. More details of exactly what's in store for the new firmware have been leaking left and right from sources in the know.

According to TechCrunch, iOS 5 will feature widgets much like the dashboard widgets found on Apple desktop computers. These would allow iPhone owners to quickly view current information on the screen without even unlocking the device. Examples of widgets include weather, calendar entries and other displays updated in real time.

The tenth anniversary of Apple's retail stores is on Thursday the 19th, and employees have been told nobody can take time off between the 20th and 22nd. In fact, all Apple stores have scheduled employees to work overnight between Saturday and Sunday, with mysterious packages and locked training files arriving at locations. What does Apple have up its sleeve to celebrate the 10th anniversary?

BGR reports a new product launch could be underway, or even the installation of NFC wireless payment terminals. Even though the latter would make sense, it's not clear what near-field communication technology Apple would adopt, especially since no iOS devices currently have NFC capabilities installed. Current information from analysts indicates that Apple is likely to wait until the iPhone 6 to integrate NFC into their mobile phones.

Industry checks by analysts have concluded that the fifth generation Apple iPhone will be a souped-up version of the iPhone 4, with improved hardware in a similar form factor. Sprint is also rumored to be the next major carrier to receive the device, as Apple has posted a job opening for a carrier engineer.

The job posting was originally listed with a location of Kansas City, Missouri which is only 20 miles from Sprint headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas. Since the post was first revealed by Stop it, AT&T the job location has been changed to Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California. Sprint's network operates with CDMA, similar to Verizon Wireless which received the iPhone 4 earlier this year.