For those not going 5....5 to 5S

[jsmith1]

For those not going to the 5 for whatever reasons, myself as well, am going to wait due to not having a upgrade and certainly not enough changes to warrant full $$.

Since you guys are pretty knowledgeable about getting it close as to what will happen, what do you think the changes will be for the next model, whether it be called the 5S or something else?

I will be eligible for upgrade by then (june of next year) as will a lot of other people that have the 4S and will probably(ok...for sure) get the next one.
Hopefully a screen width change...but if 5S probably not.

 

[MonkeySee....]

For those not going to the 5 for whatever reasons, myself as well, am going to wait due to not having a upgrade and certainly not enough changes to warrant full $$.

Since you guys are pretty knowledgeable about getting it close as to what will happen, what do you think the changes will be for the next model, whether it be called the 5S or something else?

I will be eligible for upgrade by then (june of next year) as will a lot of other people that have the 4S and will probably(ok...for sure) get the next one.

I have to wait but not because I don't like the 5 but I'm only into my first year of my contract and can't afford a new phone.

The 5S will no doubt be a bit quicker and have a fancy new feature. Thats all I need to upgrade

 

[S.B.G]

It's too early to begin speculating on what next years iPhone will be, but I will speculate anyway.

Based on past releases, including this week's, I will assume that next years phone will just be a refinement of this years. It seems that they give a major redesign every two years, and the years in between get refinements.

 

[ixodes]

Apple has morphed into an angry competitor in the smartphone space. Who knows what they're thinking. The next iPhone is more of an unknown than ever.

I'm eligible for a smartphone upgrade, but for the very first time it wont be the new iPhone 5. It's just too much like my 4S. I don't care about the gimmicks, I care other things.

 

[Italianblend]

I'm hoping that it blows me away! I am on the "S" cycle too. I don't have any issues with my 4S though.

Assume a faster chip and some improvement to camera. There are some other technologies like thumprint scanners and something like close communication technology (Can't remember what it's called). Where you pay for stuff just by holding out your phone. Not sure if we can expect those.

 

[zeetee96]

Im on a two year contract with my 4S that i got the day after launch day... So will see what apple have in store for us around october next year... I do like the iPhone 5, im just rather disappointed... There was no surprise for us (the minority who follow the leaks and rumors) where I think usually there is... Also the lack of NFC is a slight let-down...

It was a good upgrade and i do love the design just like i love the 4S design. I just wanted more theatre... I wanted some drama and for apple to turn round to us die hard apple fans and stick a tongue out at us... I love that... Its just a shame there was no surprises in store for us, bit of a let down...

Maybe there will be a 5S, maybe not... Either way it is highly likely i will buy the latest iPhone when my contract runs out next year...

 

[Namji]

Yep next years design will be similar design if not identical with higher specs and some added new features.. I'm hoping IP6 or whatever iphone after IP5S will be totally different design that is out of this world

 

[jsmith1]

I have to wait but not because I don't like the 5 but I'm only into my first year of my contract and can't afford a new phone.

The 5S will no doubt be a bit quicker and have a fancy new feature. Thats all I need to upgrade

same boat, my only wish is that it would be a screen width change by then, but pretty sure that won't happen for 2 or 3 more cycles it seems.

 

[smiddlehurst]

Im on a two year contract with my 4S that i got the day after launch day... So will see what apple have in store for us around october next year... I do like the iPhone 5, im just rather disappointed... There was no surprise for us (the minority who follow the leaks and rumors) where I think usually there is... Also the lack of NFC is a slight let-down...

It was a good upgrade and i do love the design just like i love the 4S design. I just wanted more theatre... I wanted some drama and for apple to turn round to us die hard apple fans and stick a tongue out at us... I love that... Its just a shame there was no surprises in store for us, bit of a let down...

Maybe there will be a 5S, maybe not... Either way it is highly likely i will buy the latest iPhone when my contract runs out next year...

That's the risk you run if you follow the rumour sites I'm afraid. It's going to be almost impossible for Apple to keep anything a surprise when it comes to the iPhone from now on. There's just too much money to be made from certain web sites willing to pay for leaks from parts suppliers and too many people on the beta program deep diving into the code looking for clues. Add in the need to start production weeks (if not months) ahead of release to stockpile enough units for shipment and that's all she wrote. Only way for Apple to surprise again in a big way would be to move to the model the rest of the industry tends to use: announce product a couple of months out with price and availability coming later.

 

[iapplelove]

Apple has morphed into an angry competitor in the smartphone space. Who knows what they're thinking. The next iPhone is more of an unknown than ever.

I'm eligible for a smartphone upgrade, but for the very first time it wont be the new iPhone 5. It's just too much like my 4S. I don't care about the gimmicks, I care other things.

i lol when you said gimmicks..yeah they are tricking you into buying

 

[jsmith1]

That's the risk you run if you follow the rumour sites I'm afraid. It's going to be almost impossible for Apple to keep anything a surprise when it comes to the iPhone from now on. There's just too much money to be made from certain web sites willing to pay for leaks from parts suppliers and too many people on the beta program deep diving into the code looking for clues. Add in the need to start production weeks (if not months) ahead of release to stockpile enough units for shipment and that's all she wrote. Only way for Apple to surprise again in a big way would be to move to the model the rest of the industry tends to use: announce product a couple of months out with price and availability coming later.

Not being a long time Apple user, but always had Nokia's, they put out many models a year and Samsung and others as well. I've had iPad 1 and 3 and the 4S now and was wondering why they just put out 1 model a year. Guess with just 1 a year I would expect much more of a change. Couldn't they make 2 or 3 that would satisfy everyone?

 

[OceanView]

Hard to say this but if the 5S is the same form factor as the 5, I'm passing on it as well. That means I'm gonna be out of the Apple eco system for 2 years.
I know many will buy the 5S regardless of what it actually is but I just can't get past the small screen.
Once you go bigger, it's harder to go back down to a 4" screen.

 

[jsmith1]

Hard to say this but if the 5S is the same form factor as the 5, I'm passing on it as well. That means I'm gonna be out of the Apple eco system for 2 years.
I know many will buy the 5S regardless of what it actually is but I just can't get past the small screen.
Once you go bigger, it's harder to go back down to a 4" screen.

4" narrow screen is going to be hard to get past for me as well. Seems I might have been on the wrong cycle mode as well.

 

[smiddlehurst]

Not being a long time Apple user, but always had Nokia's, they put out many models a year and Samsung and others as well. I've had iPad 1 and 3 and the 4S now and was wondering why they just put out 1 model a year. Guess with just 1 a year I would expect much more of a change. Couldn't they make 2 or 3 that would satisfy everyone?

Ultimately it's a totally different business model. Apple focus on a single device update per year and as a result give users a fairly predictable upgrade cycle and developers a very small set of hardware configurations to work towards. As Apple are the only iOS provider they don't really have to compete with anyone else and command great brand loyalty. Nokia, Samsung etc kinda have to produce as many handsets as possible, primarily because brand loyalty doesn't really exist in the Android space (as an example, though Samsung have started to change that) and they have to keep up on tech with other manufacturers.

Oh, and as for more of a change... I've said this before and I'll say it again: the 5 is a HUGE change. It's a totally new shell, totally new screen, new internals... about the only thing that's similar is the antenna design but that's the one thing you really want to be a mature design in a phone! Same design language, different design. But the design language hasn't really changed since the original iPhone - the front panel is still the same black glass panel with a home buttion, the buttons haven't really moved, the back panel is the same basic look...

 

[Krandor]

For those not going to the 5 for whatever reasons, myself as well, am going to wait due to not having a upgrade and certainly not enough changes to warrant full $$.

Since you guys are pretty knowledgeable about getting it close as to what will happen, what do you think the changes will be for the next model, whether it be called the 5S or something else?

I will be eligible for upgrade by then (june of next year) as will a lot of other people that have the 4S and will probably(ok...for sure) get the next one.
Hopefully a screen width change...but if 5S probably not.

I don't expect anything major. Let's be honest her. We are approaching a point on smartphone HARDWARE where there are not a lot of brand new hardware features to add. So I expect you'll see faster process, maybe better screen, better camera and that type of stuff. Possibly something new like NFC and possibly some software feature only on the 5S (like Siri was for 4S). There really is just not a lot of "new! wow!" hardware level features to add.

Now on the iOS side, I have a long list of things that could be improved and hopefully we'll see some of those next year for 5 and 5S.