Up until today, anyone who had been following the rumors about the next version of Apple’s iPhone was probably starting to get a clear picture of what the next iPhone might look like. While the device is still unofficial, rumors were starting to stack up in the “minor upgrade” corner, suggesting that the next iPhone was going to more like the iPhone 3GS than the iPhone 3G, in terms of hardware upgrade. But a brand new rumor is now suggesting that the iPhone 5 will indeed be a major tweak in the aesthetics department, looking more unique than many believe. But at this point, is that a good idea for Apple?

First, let’s recall that when the iPhone 3GS launched, a lot of people were skeptical about Apple’s battle plan. After all, the 3GS looked almost exactly like the original iPhone 3G, so why would anyone really want to spend the cash to get the new device? Well, obviously the new software and better internals played a major part in that, and that’s how it was looking Apple would launch the next iPhone. It was looking so much like that, in fact, that many people were already calling the next iPhone the iPhone 4S, and were expecting to see the iPhone 5 in 2012.

At this point, I have absolutely no idea what Apple is going to do. At first, I was all for Apple launching a major upgrade in the hardware department especially after the company unveiled the overhaul to iOS, called iOS 5. I believe that with the major upgrade in software, it’s only fitting that the hardware get a major facelift, too. However, I can’t ignore how well the iPhone 3G to iPhone 3GS transition went, based on the minor tweaks to the hardware, and major alterations to the mobile operating system.

And with that in mind, I started to fall in line with the majority that believe the next iPhone will be more like an iPhone 4S, rather than an iPhone 5. They’ve already announced iOS 5 and we know that it’s launching publicly later this year. I don’t have any reason to think that Apple would launch the next iPhone without iOS 5 already on it, so my guess is the next iPhone will launch when Apple is ready to launch iOS 5, minus the Beta tag.

Truth be told, I’m always a fan of major upgrades versus minor ones. I believe if the general consumer is going to spend the money to get a new phone, and they are looking to legitimately upgrade from their previous device, then they should be getting a lot more in the new phone than in what they had before. And that means both on the hardware and software side. But, if Apple were to launch the next iPhone with the same A5 dual-core processor that’s inside the iPad 2, a slightly bigger screen and with iOS 5, I don’t think it’s going to have any trouble flying off the shelves once it launches.

What do you think Apple is going to do with the next iPhone? Are we going to see a major upgrade, and the iPhone 5 debut? Or will the next version of the iPhone be a smaller upgrade, and wear the iPhone 4S name? Let me know in the comments below what you think.