iPhone 5S to Get Upgraded Camera and Processor, Could Ship to Retailers in the 3rd Quarter

[wizard]

A large screen with a 1080p resolution and 25% less power consumption than previous AMOLED displays (with AMOLED already using less power than LCD) IS innovative. I personally believe that the screen is the most important part of the phone - but other people may think differently.

You believe AMOLEDs are lower power than LCDs but yet it has been proven again and again that they aren't. So if you can't get that right how is anybody to believe what you say? The whole problem the various LED screens is that they only save power when dark, during normal operation they are relatively huge power drains.

That being said LCDs have along way to go too.

 

[kis]

Dont get back... Please explain?

If I dont buy the new iphone am I not allowed to buy/use other Apple products?

I own many Apple products so find your comments rather inappropriate and immature.

No, because then you're a traitor and a heretic.

 

[hydr]

Apple have made my S4 purchase even easier!

You mean DigiTimes...

 

[iJays]

5S -> quad-core ARM
6 --> dual-core Intel

 

[kis]

You believe AMOLEDs are lower power than LCDs but yet it has been proven again and again that they aren't. So if you can't get that right how is anybody to believe what you say? The whole problem the various LED screens is that they only save power when dark, during normal operation they are relatively huge power drains.

That being said LCDs have along way to go too.

A quick web search says you're wrong. LCD-TFTs use more power because of the backlight, which isn't needed for AMOLED displays.

There are some companies (especially LG) that claim their own LCD products miraculously use less power. Turns out, however, that most of them actually do use less power but only as long as they're lower-res than the AMOLED equivalents they're compared to. At the same resolution, AMOLED displays use considerably less power than LCDs.

 

[ijohn.8.80]

So then you really don't care if apple makes avhuge or small improvements in the next then... Because you got everything you need all ready

Spot on!

 

[lamerica80]

typically contracts are 2 years, so we have two patterns.
iphone -> 3gs -> 4s -> 5s
and
iphone 3g -> iphone 4 -> iphone 5

I don't think it's Apple's intention to encourage users to upgrade every single year, it's just for those that are on the offset +1 year that need a reason to renew their contract.

Very true and sadly im on the second pattern.

 

[peterdevries]

Yeah, when apple was still approaching a stock price of 800$, it was probably the right thing to do. Today, however? Not so much.

Apple started doing this in 2009, when their stock price was around $100. This strategy and the iPad was what brought AAPl to $800.

And how dumb does it seem when even the largest rival of Apple is following the same strategy now?

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The 5S is innovative?

From these specs mentioned it appears more dated than anything else.

If you think that upping specs equates to innovation, than I recommend you to look up the definition.

 

[ijohn.8.80]

now the question is would you upgrade for free?
i sold my unlocked 4 for over 300 and upgraded for free... why not? better camera's no lag. The 4 compared the 5 is ridiculous jump(i had my 4 for over 2 years).
longer you wait worse resale value and no upgrade for free anyone. I think its pointless to wait past 2 years if you can upgrade.

Here in Australia we end up paying nearly full-tote odds for the iPhones on top of our 2 year contracts. You pay a monthly fee for your usage plan and a monthly repayment for the iPhone.

For me as a low use user, it sucks. I get ripped off twice! I don't make hundreds of texts each day and I make bugger all calls. I correspond via the net and old school written word.

Why should I update or go on another plan and pay for nothing, when I can just pay as I use it, which ends up costing me about $10 a month, seriously, now that my plan is expired.

I have no need to update and when I eventually do, my iPhone 4 will get given to someone else, not sold as a commodity.

I have a fairly good DSLR and some pretty good lenses to take photo's with, so there's no benefit in the newer phones having more megapixels for me.

 

[TheRainKing]

I miss the days when Apple use to wow us. Now it's always hardware upgrades.

 

[SoldOnApple]

It'd be a shame to waste such a great design on just one release. I don't have a 5, but I get totally jelly whenever I see one. It makes my 4 look chunky.

 

[pmontanarella]

The good news here, is that, if Apple decides to release an updated iPhone 5S in June we might see iOS 7 as early as April with the developer previews going out around then for a June release.

Just a thought,
Pietro

 

[Mr Fusion]

I have two iPhone 5's, one black & one white. I look after them and bother are as pristine as they day I got them. Likewise a number of friends have the iPhone 5 and none have issues.

I can only assume that people who complain of scratches, chips & paint issues simply don't look after them very well.

You must be fortunate. My family and friends who have bought 5's all have at least a few scratches on their "chamfered" edges. They don't beat them up, and they're kept in a case almost all the time.

I'm not asking for a phone I can pound against concrete, but it also shouldn't scratch so easily. If the "5S" comes true it worries me they wouldn't update the manufacturing process to fix this anodizing paint flaw.

 

[Mackan]

These incremental updates are indeed boring.

I would try a Windows Phone today, to get something new and refreshing. But the selection of Windows phones is abysmal. The only ones that would be interesting would be from Nokia, but their flagship (920) is a big brick.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

It would be a first for Apple to release a new iPhone w/o a new iOS. They've done it with the iPad but never the iPhone. So, color me skeptical unless an Dev iOS preview event in announced in the next couple of weeks.

 

[jimbo1mcm]

I've figured it out!!!

Tim has low testosterone. Anyone, please send him some. J.K. Shin has elevated levels!!! So simple.

 

[kis]

but their flagship (920) is a big brick.

not only that - it's also bug riddeled like no other device I've ever had the "pleasure" to work with.

 

[jmdMac]

Nobody in the tech industry has ever had the same desire or passion for innovation as Steve Jobs had, it was incredible. I fear that although Apple's strategy is still aimed at innovation, the desire and passion for it have been lost.

I believe that when Jony Ive and Tim Cook are gone this will only get worse, and Apple will turn back into a company that is focused on it's bottom line rather than its product, just as they did in the 90's when Jobs was not around.

As a huge fan of Jony Ive, I will continue to support Apple until his presence is no longer felt.

 

[Menel]

This year is all about software.

iOS 5 - big upgrade
iPhone 4S - minor

iOS 6 - ehh upgrade (probably the worst iOS to date)
iPhone 5 - big upgrade

iOS 7 - big upgrade
iPhone 5S - minor

I think in 2014 is when Apple will truly innovate again, with a larger screen iPhone, etc. It's going to be interesting next year, because the S5 will probably get completely redesigned. It seems like Apple and Samsung are releasing incremental updates this year and focusing on software.

Except 5 wasn't a big upgrade.

CPU speed boost is impressive, but hardly noticeable in real world use.
HSPA+ users already getting low latency 10mbps, aren't really noticing 60mbps LTE... because it's a freaking mobile handheld.
No new apps over the 4S.
It's taller and harder to reach the top left back buttons when using one handed.

 

[HarryT]

Screen size will not be increasing.

The reason is for Apple to increase the screensize they will need to REDUCE the ppi for the iPhone. This will mean that its no longer a Retina screen (it will still be good but it will be lower ppi than the current phones and therefore a stretch to call it a retina screen).

They won't increase the resolution simply because the use of Apps and how developers code them. If a new resolution is implemented then many apps will have to be recoded as autolayout - whilst good is not mature enough yet to handle all situations (plus many devs still haven't implemented it).

No new screen size this year 100%. Next year I doubt it too.

 

[johngordon]

Personally I'd rather they skip the S, give us a little innovation and put a new 6 out next year. Bigger screen, changes to iOS, give Siri a French accent. That kind of thing. Throwing a letter on the end of the name and asking us for another $500 is getting old. Not just with Apple, but all the phone makers who want to take baby steps and charge us premium.

I don't get this logic, that Apple (or anyone) is asking for another $500 every time they release a new model of a phone (or any device).

People are under no obligation to replace their phone every new iteration. Maybe I'm unusual, but I certainly don't spend that kind of money on a new phone every year. Much as I'd love to buy a new one every year, I certainly can't justify the cost, and am happy with my my iPhone 4 still. I'll probably be severely tempted when the next one comes out, but will probably wait until the next year, and see what that brings.

 

[blackcrayon]

The S4 is the phone of the year.

Going to take a while for everyone else to catch up. By which time the S5 will be out and set new standards all over again.

The S4 doesn't look particularly difficult to catch up to, as it's mostly an S3 with a faster CPU and GPU, and upgraded camera... iPhone 5S should just about do it in those respects.

 

[jafingi]

Really? Upgraded camera and processor? I haven't thought of that!

 

[kis]

They won't increase the resolution simply because the use of Apps and how developers code them. If a new resolution is implemented then many apps will have to be recoded as autolayout - whilst good is not mature enough yet to handle all situations (plus many devs still haven't implemented it).

Apple's in a pickle there - I agree that a higher screen-res is going to be a tough sell. However, Apple could have foreseen that when they launched the "Retina" display. The problem is that people use their phones differently now. Content consumption (youtube, reading etc.) outweigh messaging etc. for most people now. It's a proven fact that larger screen phones sell incredibly well. Even those considered to be impractically large (like the Galaxy Note) do surprisingly well on the market. Android phones with small screens simply don't sell. If Apple gave the consumer a choice, I'm convinced that a (real) 4.5" iPhone would outsell the 4" version 10:1.

Apple sooner or later will have to realize that their own design pre-conceptions may not always be those of the target consumer. My guess is that Apple will introduce better scaling in the next iOS, giving the devs a year to get their apps adapted for bigger screen devices that will come out in 2014.
Unfortunately, that may be too late in terms of market share and public opinion.

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The S4 doesn't look particularly difficult to catch up to, as it's mostly an S3 with a faster CPU and GPU, and upgraded camera... iPhone 5S should just about do it in those respects.

Except that the S4 has a massively more beautiful display and an interface that's not 5 years old.

 

[superduperdom]

Good news, hopefully no compelling reason to consume. Still happy with my iphone 4.
My gearlust reserved for a mini-ipad retina for my bed and bath-time needs. And if apple loses it's crown and it's stores get a little less busy and full of the cool-seeking youth, I'm very ok with that. I can dream can't I ?