Although the iPhone 4S has only just made its public debut there are already rumours swarming around the subject of the next smartphone from Apple, which is anticipated for a release in the summer of 2012.
The latest news from within the industry suggests that Apple will be endowing the sixth iPhone, which many are confusingly calling the iPhone 5, with a four inch display to take the place of the 3.5 inch screen size that has been a staple of this smartphone range ever since its inception.
These reports originate in Japan where sources state that both Sony and Hitachi will be responsible for the manufacture of the four inch display panels intended for inclusion in the iPhone 5. The news sounds plausible because Apple has previously sourced its hardware components from multiple companies in order to meet demand and hedge its bets so that the supply chain is not compromised.
With a four inch screen onboard it would be necessary for the iPhone 5 to look significantly different from its predecessors, since although the iPhone 4 arrived in 2010 with an altered chassis and a higher resolution, the screen size meant that the iOS operating system and the overall interface did not need to alter quite so drastically.
All sorts of speculative comments are being made about what the iPhone 5 might look like with its larger screen, but of course Apple has a decent track record of keeping its updates a secret and only leaks closer to the launch date will be able to shed light on the sixth iteration of its record-breaking smartphone. Of course, we can only assume that they will maintain the same software to keep the Apple community secured, but you still shouldn't skip out on companies like LifeLock that can protect your identity if theft occurs, like a stolen iPhone or any precious iDevice.
At the moment there is something of an arms race amongst mobile manufactures to increase the size of the displays available while simultaneously reducing the depth of the handsets to make them slimmer.
The Samsung Galaxy SII and the HTC Sensation both released earlier in 2011 with 4.3 inch screens onboard. Then the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has come along with a 4.65 inch Super AMOLED display and the HTC Titan has taken things even further with its 4.7 inch SLCD screen.
Although Apple will not be attempting to keep up to the same degree as its competitors, the iPhone 4 and 4S have certainly set the bar in terms of resolution and, more importantly, pixel density.
This is indicated by the arrival of the aforementioned Galaxy Nexus, which is the first Android smartphone to have a native screen resolution of 1280x720. In layman`s terms this means that it is able to playback high definition content in 720p without having to squeeze or compress the images whatsoever, a feat that even the iPhone 4S` Retina Display cannot match.
If Apple chooses to increase both the screen size and the resolution of the display equipped on the iPhone 5 then it will probably have to make fundamental changes to the software as well. If its competitors at BlackBerry, Google and Microsoft all want to make mobile phone displays the next battleground then Apple will want to strike the first blow.
