With 2013 right around the corner, you can imagine that the rumor mill regarding Apple’s next smartphone is already starting to pick up the pace. I’m not sure if it ever stops spinning completely, but at least we get a couple months in a year where we don’t hear anything. That’s coming to an end now, with rumors, speculation, and even leaked hardware casings starting to come down the pipe. The most recent rumor floating around the Internet was started from an analyst’s perspective, though, so keep that in mind.
In that outlook, Peter Misek of Jefferies & Company, suggests that Apple isn’t going to play it safe with the next iPhone, believed to be the iPhone 5S. Instead, the Cupertino-based company is going to go big, and include plenty of new upgrades for the device. That would certainly be change from previous iterations, but then again, perhaps Apple is indeed getting ready for a revolution of its hardware and software in 2013.
I’m not going to speculate on the rumors, simply because I think it’s possible that a company can do anything, at any given moment, if they deem it necessary. As it stands right now, as much as I wish Apple would launch “the new iPhone” and a new version of iOS, it is probably more likely that we’ll see a bump in numbered version of the mobile platform, and “just” an iPhone 5S improvement in hardware.
Is that a bad thing? Only time will tell.
However, there’s one part of the analyst’s claim that has me interested. Misek believes that the next iPhone is going to launch in a multitude of colors, much like with their brand new iPod Touch line-up. So instead of just white and black, we’ll get a wide variety of colors. Yes, just like we saw HTC and Nokia launch with their Windows Phone 8 devices.
Options. We talk about options a lot here at PhoneDog, and that’s simply because we love them. And, for the most part, so does the consumer. Having options isn’t a bad thing, even if iPhone buyers have gotten used to only having one “real” option for a new phone every year. (Not counting the memory options, mind you.)
Is it time for Apple to change that? Yes, it is. They have already proven that they can offer two different screen sizes on the market at the same time, with the iPhone 4/4S and its 3.5-inch display, and the iPhone 5’s 4-inch version. So, with the iPhone 5S, if we aren’t going to get a major revolution in the hardware or software department, maybe Apple can spice things up by offering more options right out of the gate.
Specifically, let’s say Apple announces the iPhone 5S, and it has the same 4-inch display as the iPhone 5. Okay, so that would be expected. But then, unexpectedly, they also throw up an image of an iPhone 5S with a 3.5-inch display. Both devices come in a wide variety of colors, maybe 5 in total, and their hardware is the same, with the exception of the screen size.
Why 3.5-inches? Why not go bigger, say, to 4.5-inches, and make the 4-inch model the smaller option? That’s a good question. I guess that could be a possibility for Apple, as there is no denying that a lot of people out there want to have a bigger phone in their hands instead of smaller. However, I know a lot of people who want a smaller phone (and then a tablet, then their computer). Having a huge screen for their phone isn’t something they’re interested in. Their favorite phones have been handsets with 3.5- or 3.7-inch displays.
Apple could throw a wrench in the system, or two I guess, if they offered up three iPhone 5S options: a 3.5-, 4- and 4.5-inch option. That’d be completely unexpected, but it would offer up a nice change of pace for the company. You could even have varied storage options. The 3.5-inch model’s highest capacity could be 32GB of storage. The 4-inch version 64GB; and finally, the 4.5-inch model could come with a whopping 128GB of storage. Making each model different in some way, while offering up plenty of options for the consumer.
Apple likes to keep it simple, though, so I’m not counting on anything like this happening. The color thing? Sure, that’s a possibility. But, honestly, I’d much rather have different hardware sizes than color options.
But what about you, Dear Reader? If you could pick an iPhone 5S with a screen size between 3.5-inches to 4.5-inches, which size would you pick? Or would you not choose an iPhone at all? Let me know what you think.
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