More Speculation about the 5th iPhone

The next iPhone is scheduled to come out this September, at the same time that Apple rolls out is new operating system, iOS 5. According to the rumors, the iOS will have more revolutionary upgrades than the phone itself. Besides a faster processor, bigger screen and an improved camera, the 5th iPhone won’t necessarily be that different from the iPhone 4. In fact, according to the rumor mill, here are some of the possible improvements that probably will not be found on this version, but that will almost inevitably come later:

• 4G capability - This phone will reportedly not be a 4G phone, which means it won’t be able to take advantage of the newest generation of cell technology that the big carriers are rolling out. The 5th iPhone will still be a 3G device only.
• NFC payments - Near Field Communications is the technology that allows you to swipe your phone to make a payment. Standards are still being developed and Apple is not ready to deploy this yet, according to most observers.
• Smaller, compact iPhone - Apple has reportedly considered launching a second line of iPhones. These would be smaller, more compact phones designed as an entry level phone for markets where shelling out the equivalent of $500 USD is not practical. In fact, one analyst is still insisting that Apple will release the smaller phone at the same time that they release the 5th iPhone.

This is the consensus from the rumor mill. Apple always pulls a few surprises out when it debuts a new product, so perhaps we’ll be surprised and see some of these innovations in September after all.