iPhone 5 - Everything you need to know

So, after months and months of fevered speculation, we finally found out that the latest version of Apple’s iconic handset was the iPhone 4S, not the iPhone 5 as had been widely predicted. The iPhone 4S was not the major update which many had predicted, but this in turn suggests that the iPhone 5, set to be launched in 2012, could be a revolutionary change.

Although Apple has only just launched the iPhone 4S, details and rumours about the next iPhone are already emerging. This is down to the fact that the iPhone 4S was launched later than normal (October) and that the next iPhone is scheduled to return to the regular mid-summer launch slot in 2012.

iPhone: Bigger screen

In the past year, the trend for ever-larger smartphone screens has been led by the Android bridge with devices like the HTC Sensation XL and the Samsung Galaxy Note. Even Windows Phone devices are getting in on the act with the monstrous HTC Titan.

However Apple has stuck to its tried and tested handset screen size of 3.5in, which when put side-by-side with some of these modern day beasts looks positively weedy. And so it is no surprise that rumours abound that the iPhone 5 will have a larger screen - 4in to be exact.

Reports suggest that both Hitachi Displays and Sony Mobile Display Corporation have begun production of the panels for the iOS devices and that they will be delivered to the companies assembling the iPhone in the coming weeks.

iPhone 5: New shape

Soon after the launch of the iPhone 4S, reports emerged that Steve Jobs was working on a radical new design of the iPhone prior to his untimely death. This new design is said to be teardrop shaped and will be 8mm longer with an aluminium case. It will also use a curved glass screen, similar to the one seen on the Galaxy Nexus.

iPhone 5: More powerful

The new A5 dual-core processor inside the iPhone 4S was one of the major improvements made in the latest model. There are very few details so far emerging regarding the processor inside the iPhone 5. However the iPad 3 is said to be upgraded from the A5 chip to the quad-core A6 chip and the same is a possibility for the iPhone.

With HTC already planning a quad-core smartphone for the early part of 2012, it is not too far fetch that we could see a quad-core iPhone come next year. As regards other internals, we certainly hope that a better battery would be included, though suggestions that the iPhone 5 was binned months before the 4S was launched due to battery issues is not a good sign.

iPhone 5: When can I get one?

Various sources have claimed that the iPhone 5 will launch anytime from February to October of next year. Reports emerged recently that Apple is set to make a rare appearance at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in Febraury, but considering its penchant for holding its own events, we doubt this to be the case.

Another possible date is March when the iPad 3 is rumoured to be launching, but again we doubt that Apple would dilute the impact either new product would make by announcing them at the same time. The most likely launch time is next June, when new iPhones are generally launched.