I know we all have been saying that the next iPhone will probably be a 5s, i.e. looks like the iPhone 5 with updated internals, but I wonder, what stops Apple from redesigning the external case (could be as simple as perhaps new material, rounded back, whatever) as well and call it the iPhone 6?
I know Apple has had two Ss (3Gs and 4s), but remember, Apple redesigned the original iPhone when they released 3G. What's to stop them from doing that this year? Competition is heating up, pressure is up, and this morning there are reports about potential weak demand. I would't say weak demand, more like the buzz winding down after the holiday rush.
Noone knows. S is typically associated with a significant speed improvement.
3G->3GS changed architectures, huge speed.
4->4S changed architectures, introduced dual core and multithreading, huge speed. Granted 'S' technically stands for Siri here.
5 is already incredibly fast. Few if any functions/apps in sight drag down the dual core A5 of the old 4S. A speed boost isn't going to sell those 4S owning consumers who are ready for a subsidized upgrade on a new device.
Certainly possible, but I'm doubtful.
speculation? You should be aware of the product cycles of the iPhone by now.. the 5S is inevitable, followed by the 6, then the 6S, etc etc etc
'Inevitable'? Just because they've done it twice in the past, doesn't mean it's given. They will do what makes the most sense from a product standpoint, and not some arbitrary naming pattern.
Even if they redesign the iPhone in the next generation, the screen size will be the same. headphone jack will be at the same place (just moved it to the bottom in the iPhone 5), home button likely to remain there.
What re-design do you call this? 3GS -> 4 is still the greatest improvement since 2007 IMO.
3GS->4 was nice that it got Retina. That was a huge, no doubt, direct human interaction upgrade.
But the data speed got ignored, same 3G.
The CPU got a pitiful boost. Same CPU/GPU micro architecture, still single core, just minor frequency bump.