iPhone 5S More Rumors: 13-Megapixel Camera, 128GB Memory, And Faster Processor

We all know that a new iPhone will be hitting stores' shelves this year, but what exactly will this device bring to the table? According to the latest rumors swirling around the tech world, the next iPhone should be sporting a 13-megapixel camera, a more powerful processor and could have a storage capacity as high as 128GB.

A new report from Apple-centric website iLounge states that the next iPhone should include a 13-megapixel sensor from Sony, and release sometime in July. iLounge also mentions that the iPhone 5S will feature a more powerful processor, probably a new A7 chipset and that the current iPhone prototypes are labeled N51 and N53.

Current iPhones top out at 64GB storage, but that all could change with Apple's next-gen offerings. Astute observer iNeal (via iDownload Blog) noticed that the iOS 6.1 beta includes an option for 128GB in the SystemPartitionPadding column, meaning that Apple is definitely exploring the idea of allowing iOS to run on higher capacity devices - and you can bet the iPhone will be one of them.

A 13-megapixel camera and 128GB should be the norm for high-end smartphones coming out in 2013. Just last year, Samsung announced that it had started mass producing 128GB memory chips for use in smartphones and tablets, indicating that the capacity should be proliferating itself rather quickly. With more apps and media content than ever at people's mobile fingertips, many would welcome a 128GB option, which is a 100 percent jump over the existing 64GB standard.

There are talks of a bigger iPhone, a cheaper iPhone, and iPhones in a multitude of colors, but nobody is quite sure how many iPhones will be releasing this year, or when. One thing is for certain though: Apple is eyeing its Android competition more closely now, and will be aggressively releasing more iPhones closer to each other than ever before in an attempt to give consumers enough options to choose iOS over Android. 

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Photos of alleged iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 parts leaked online

Photographs of alleged leaked iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 parts have surfaced online, suggesting that Apple is working on two new iPhones for launch this year.
The photos, which were published by French website NoWhereElse.fr, show what are believed to be speaker enclosures for two future iPhones. According to the report, the parts come from an improved version of the iPhone 5, which is being dubbed 'iPhone 5S', and an iPhone 6 with an all-new design.
NoWhereElse.fr says that the photos were taken by a worker at one of Apple's manufacturers. This anonymous source claims that the first model, the iPhone 5S, will launch between March and July, with the iPhone 6 arriving towards the end of this year.
NoWhereElse.fr also notes that it is possible that the smaller speaker component shown in the photos could alternatively be for the rumoured iPhone mini or low-cost iPhone.

Whether the photographs are legitimate remains to be seen, but NoWhereElse.fr has published accurate photos of leaked parts in the past.
Reports that Apple is working on multiple iPhone launches this year have picked up pace in recent weeks, with the latest speculation suggesting that a 4.8in iPhone, oddly dubbed 'iPhone math', is also in the pipeline.
Other rumours have also suggested that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost iPhone in order to compete with cheaper offerings from rivals such as Samsung.

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Low-Cost iPhone to Use Plastic or Hybrid Plastic/Metal Design, Due in Late 2013

Digitimes provides more details about the rumored cheaper iPhone that has been circulating. According to their supply chain sources, this new entry-level iPhone is said to adopt plastic for its chassis rather than the glass and aluminum that has been used on their current models.

They also cite other circulating rumors that suggest that the cheaper iPhone will alternatively offer a "chassis mixed with plastic and metal, with the internal metal parts being able to be seen from outside through special design".

The publication also reports that the components for the low-cost iPhone are going through validation and the final product may come to market in the second half of 2013.

Digitimes reignited the long-running rumors of a low-cost iPhone last week. The report was quickly followed by a Wall Street Journal and Reuters report claiming the same, and offering a target price of $99-$149. Subsequent comments by Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller seemed to suggest that Apple was dismissive of that possibility, but that article was later retracted by the original publication.

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iPhone Mini wont debut. Phil Schiller Says It Won’t Be The ‘Future Of Apple Products’

If Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is to be believed, the widely rumored low-cost iPhone could help Apple cater to a market representing as many as 580 million potential customers. But it seems that the Cupertino tech giant is not in a mood to take it into consideration as a company executive simply turned the rumor down in a one-to-one interview with a Chinese newspaper.

Apple is not in a mood to take a low cost iPhone into consideration as the company's SVP of Worldwide marketing Phil Schiller simply turned the rumor down in a one-to-one interview with a Chinese newspaper.Apple SVP of Worldwide marketing Phil Schiller told Chinese newspaper Shanghai Evening News in an official interview that regardless of the popularity of cheaper smartphones, this would “never be the future of Apple products.”

Although iPhone’s market share rose in the fourth quarter of 2011 and in the first quarter of 2012, standing at 23 percent, it dropped down drastically to just 14.6 percent worldwide in the third quarter of 2012. Schiller did address this concern, but tried to validate Apple’s current position in the market saying that the low-cost smartphones have created a new segment in the smartphone market, which Apple does not want to explore.

Schiller said that targeting the low-end of the market by making a cheaper iPhone was not Apple’s way of doing things. Instead, in every product that Apple creates, it considers “using only the best technology available. This includes the production pipeline, the Retina display, the unibody design, to provide the best product to the market.”
“So a lot of people in the Chinese market using a functional machine, some manufacturers use cheap smartphones replace feature phones, but this is not Apple’s product development direction,” said Schiller.
Criticizing some of Apple’s competitors for releasing “multiple products in one breath,” Schiller said that after purchasing such products customers often ended up with “no suitable software products and user experience.”
Apple doesn’t want that to happen to its customers, and as Redmond Pie noted, Schiller argued that “a small product line ensures maximum software and accessory compatibility by reducing the effort on the part of developers and manufacturers to ensure that their products work on all devices.”
There is no doubt that Apple’s market share in smartphones segment has dropped notably in recent times, but despite that the company has claimed to have made significant profits.
“At first, non-smartphones were popular in the Chinese market, now cheap smartphones are more popular and non-smartphones are out,” Schiller added. “Despite the popularity of cheap smartphones, this will never be the future of Apple’s products. In fact, although Apple’s market share of smartphones is just about 20%, we own the 75% of the profit.”
Schiller nailed the cheaper iPhone rumor down. But should his comment be considered conclusive?
“Schiller’s statements aren’t conclusive in the way that they refer to exactly what price points that Apple will be targeting, only that ‘cheap smartphones’ aren’t really Apple’s fare,” said Matthew Panzarino of The Next Web. “This has always been the case and even with the ‘free’ iPhones, you’re still getting top-notch build quality, just from a couple of models ago. A ‘cheap’ smartphone would imply worse materials or construction in order to meet a price point.”
iDownloadBlog pointed to another report from Edible Apple, saying people should not confuse between a cheap iPhone and a more affordable iPhone.
“The iPad Mini is by no means cheap, but it’s certainly more affordable than the flagship iPad 4th generation,” said the report. “Similarly, a more economical iPhone might be a boon for Apple to the extent that they make more money per device sold than they currently do selling older generation models at steep discounts.”
So what’s your take on a cheaper or, to be more precise, an affordable iPhone? Will a low-cost but not cheaply made iPhone debut in 2013?

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