Previous rumors have speculated that the iPhone 5 could be released in October but now one analyst with KGI predicts that the next generation smartphone (and it’s coordinating operating system iOS 6) might arrive a bit earlier.
KGI analyst Ming Chi Kuo explained in a note that he expects iOS 6 GM (which stands for Golden Master) in early September. Judging by the release of the new operating system, he also predicts the iPhone 5 will be released around the same time.
Just last week, he also predicted that the new phone may feature a four-inch screen with a ratio of 16:9, a high-definition front-facing camera, and 4G LTE capability, plus a thinner design. His other predictions for iOS 6 include integration with popular applications like Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and iCloud. It’s also expected that iOS 6 will feature Apple’s first ever 3D maps application which will replace Google Maps.
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco is this week and it’s expected that Tim Cook will probably make an announcement regarding the future of iOS 6. Last year the company announced iOS 5 during the the WWDC and later introduced iPhone 4s in October. It’s pretty easy to predict that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will follow the same schedule as last year’s.
The iPhone 5 is probably the most anticipated item of the year and for good reason. The last two iPhone models(iPhone 4 and 4s)exceeded expectations with impressive resolution of 960 x 480, a choice of phone carriers, two cameras(8 MP for iPhone 4s and 5 MP iPhone 4, both cameras also have VGA cameras in the back), high-definition video recording capabilities, and FaceTime. It’s exciting to think of what the iPhone 5 will bring to the table.
We probably won’t hear anything official regarding the new smartphone itself until much later but I’m hoping that we will hear more about iOS 6 sometime during the WWDC conference. That should give us a little bit of insight as to what we can expect with Apple’s next generation of smartphones.
