"Qualcomm and Broadcom are producing 4G and Wi-Fi chips using a 28nm process at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), indicated the sources, adding that OmniVision is currently also seeking capacity at TSMC's 12-inch fab, resulting a tight production capacity for the foundry's 28nm process," DigiTimes reported.
Last week, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a note to clients that the next iPhone would feature a slimmed rear camera. Though the back camera, re-branded as iSight with iPhone 4S, will still be 8 megapixels, Apple would increase aperture from f/2.4 to f/2.2 to reduce camera module height by nearly 0.5 mm, iDownloadBlog reported.
Kuo said that the camera in iPhone 5 would be "the first-ever slimmed rear camera of all iPhones" that would help Apple's engineers achieve the desired thinness of the next iPhone.
The iPhone 5 rumor-mill was also spiced up recently thanks to the leaked iPhone 5 metal backplate. It was followed by an abundance of claims from insider sources that the part was indeed real. The claimed iPhone 5 leaked parts did point to a largely familiar form factor, but the most important facet to note was the longer display, increasing the ever-present 3.5-inch measurement to the 4-inch mark, also altering the aspect ratio.
Rumors say that the features most likely to be incorporated in the upcoming iPhone model include a 4-inch Retina display, an A5X Variant chip, 1GB RAM, iOS 6, 4G LTE technology, Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, improved Siri, liquidmetal casing, an 8 megapixel (or even higher) rear camera, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera for video chatting and a much-improved battery life.
Upgrade Cycle Could Affect iPhone 5 Demand
Regardless of the enormous hype, Apple's next iPhone could end up facing serious competition from its own predecessor, the "iPhone 4S," that could further affect its demand.
BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk wrote in a recent research note that millions of current iPhone 4S owners in the U.S. and abroad won't be eligible for fully subsidized upgrades once the next-gen iPhone launches this fall as they are locked into wireless service contracts.
Will iPhone 4S users be willing to spend extra to get an early iPhone 5 upgrade? As relayed by Boy Genius Report, Piecyk's note reads:
"For over a year, AT&T has enabled its customers that are 6 months into their contract to pay $250 to obtain an early upgrade. This would effectively enable the customer to buy the basic level iPhone early for $450 rather than wait the full 21 months to reduce that price to $200."
However, Piecyk noted that AT&T hadn't found this offer very interesting to its customers, who wait "till the day they are eligible" before upgrading with the full subsidy.
According to him, AT&T's chief executive Ralph de la Vega "does not expect customer interest in this early upgrade offer to increase notably with the expected launch of a new iPhone later this year, when we estimate that the vast majority of AT&T iPhone customers will not qualify for an upgrade."
iDownloadBlog pointed to a report by Asymco analyst Horace Dediu, in which he estimated that half of iPhone buyers in the U.S. are repeat customers. Assuming 90 percent upgrades for two-year old purchases, Dediu predicted a total of 90 million iOS device sales to existing users in 2012.
Thus, if the next iPhone ends up being a mere evolution, without any major industrial design renovation, there are chances that Apple's own loyal customer base could act like a double-edged sword, and the new iPhone 5 could pay the price for it.
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iPhone 5 to Launch with All-New Podcasts App - Softpedia
According to the report, “people familiar with Apple’s plans [say] that when its new iOS 6 software becomes widely available this fall, podcasts will have their own app, where users will be able to discover, download and play them on mobile devices.”
That doesn’t mean iTunes is shaking the Podcast function it currently boasts: “Users who access iTunes via laptop and desktop machines will still find them in that version of iTunes, though.”
iOS 6 will not only come pre-installed on the next major version of Apple’s iPhone, it will also be released as a free software update for all iPhone, iPod touch and iPad owners around the world (with the exception of a few device models).
iOS 6 has been confirmed to also debut a new Passbook app. Described by the Cupertino giant as “the simplest way to get all your passes in one place,” the software keeps track of things like boarding passes and baseball tickets for people who like going out a lot.
The app basically lets you scan your iPhone or iPod touch to use a coupon, get into a concert or check into your hotel.
“iOS 6 continues the rapid pace of innovation that is helping Apple reinvent the phone and create the iPad category, delivering the best mobile experience available on any device,” said Scott Forstall, Apple's senior vice president of iOS Software.
“We can’t wait for hundreds of millions of iOS users to experience the incredible new features in iOS 6 including the new Maps app, expanded Siri support, deep Facebook integration, Shared Photo Streams and the innovative new Passbook app,” Forstall added after the WWDC 12 opening keynote.
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