Wall Street stocks continued to rise overnight due to a sharp lift in Apple shares fuelled by rumours of two new iPhone models, one specifically designed to run on a second mobile network in the US.
The rumours come as Apple is set to release its iPad tablet device on Saturday in the US, with an Australian launch set to occur late next month.
A report in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week claimed that according to “people briefed by the company”, Apple is currently working on the release of an iPhone that would work on the Verizon network in the US.
While this isn’t a big deal for Australian customers, who are able to buy an iPhone from all major carriers, US customers have only dealt with telco AT&T for the past three years.
But the WSJ report also referenced a second iPhone model, a more general hardware update that would be a step up from last year’s release of the 3GS. It is understood the Verizon model would be a tweaked version of this model.
And while Apple has so far been quiet on any upcoming iPhone models, analysts are busy at work predicting what customers will see during the mid-year announcements at the World Wide Developer’s Conference.
Not only is a hardware update expected, but the next generation of the iPhone Operating System is hoped to contain a variety of updates including multitasking, a user interface redesign and, like previous years, upgrades to battery life.
While Apple usually updates developers with previews of an OS update by this time of year, the company has been hard at work preparing for the iPad launch. As a result, few rumours have managed to surface.
However, that hasn’t stopped the speculation. Here are the top 10 anticipated features of the new iPhone, expected to hit shelves by July.
Multi-tasking. This is the big one. As reported by TechCrunch earlier this month, Apple is reportedly close to releasing multi-tasking support in the next OS update. While the iPhone already supports multi-tasking for native apps, (you can listen to your iPod while browsing your email), third-party apps have been locked out of this process. Updating this would bring the iPhone up to speed with rival manufacturers.
Front-facing camera. A second camera would allow video conferencing, a long-awaited feature by many tech gurus. Some tech blogs have noted the inclusion of support for video conferencing in previous software developer kits, but it is unknown whether Apple is likely to include a second camera in an upgrade.
Better battery life. Every year since the launch of the original iPhone, Apple has updated its hardware and boasts “better battery life” each time. It would not be a surprise to see another update in June.
User interface update. The home page of the iPhone has remained the same for the past three years. Some analysts are expecting an update to keep the gadget fresh.
File browsing. This is a long shot, as Apple doesn’t usually like users tampering with the guts of its products. But as PC World reports, having a file browser to handle documents and other pieces of information already exists as a feature in several apps – Apple wouldn’t be rocking the boat by including a native feature to do the same.
Universal mailbox. This isn’t a rumour – it’s confirmed by Steve Jobs himself. In a leaked email, Jobs was asked where the iPhone would see a “universal mailbox” like the Mac. He simply replied, “yep”, complete with a “sent from my iPad” in the signature. The question remains whether users will see this upgrade later this year, or in a future update.
More multi-touch gestures. Users have been quick to praise Apple for including multi-touch gestures such as pinch-and-zoom. Preview videos of the iPad have shown the device using more complicated gestures that are likely to be included on any new iPhone upgrade.
Camera with flash. Again, a long shot considering most mobile phone cameras don’t come with a flash. But the App Store has been littered with photography-based apps, and Apple would be wise to consider putting in better camera technology to give the iPhone another bump ahead of the competition.
Hardware connectivity. One of the biggest criticisms against the iPhone and the iPad is its lack of connectivity – no USB ports, no FireWire and no internal card readers. Last year, tech site Information Week criticised the iPhone 3GS for not including any removable battery options or a USB port. Hopefully, the fourth generation of the iPhone might include some new connectivity features.
More memory. Last year the company updated its iPod Touch line with 64GB models. The iPad is also set to offer 64GB, and new iPhone model will likely do the same.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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