Analyst Says 'No Discernible Difference' Between iPhone 4 and iPhone 5

[donkeykongking]

meh, i was planning on switching to android for my next phone anyways, im just tired of the lack of attention apple puts towards their products after the release. realistically apple hasnt done any major firmware upgrades since its release. i personally feel that i shouldnt have to jailbreak my phone to have a quick reply implementation, or a goddamn weather widget. apple is good at marketing to those whom have no knowledge of the internal specs of a device. and as i have grown older and more aware, it just doesnt appeal to me anymore... i put way too much effort into this comment -.- :P

[Carvensno]

Well i have iP4 and need the WOW factor With what the article said that would be a disappointment to me and would be looking at the new Nexus that's coming out about the same time as the new Iphone 5. But Apple has always been 1 step ahead of the competition. I would be hoping for a A6 chip (4-core) and (LTE 4G) support. That would be the WOW for me. Everyone else has had dual core phones since the 1st quarter of this year, and they are working on the 4-core stuff already and have 1gig of ram and 1.5ghz cores. As far as the IOS goes? I am happy to see what they have been adding on for features and improvements But i am keeping my fingers crossed that Apple will give us a big surprise when they come out on stage.

[zplit]

Unless they add more
Power, more space, better cam I'll keep my iPhone 4.

[hogcia]

Come on! I can't believe that a company with SO much money in the bank can't innovate after a year?

All there giving us is an upgrade? Am I the only one who thinks this is ridiculous?

I just can't see myself buying an upgrade, my iphone 4 is fast enough.

If it is in fact an upgrade, I will be buying an HTC 3D phone till iPhone 6 comes out.

[RICO_]

Come on! I can't believe that a company with SO much money in the bank can't innovate after a year?

The reason they don't make big changes so frequently is because we the consumers are giving them the perfect reason NOT to......we're continuing to buy their products in mass numbers despite the fact that they may be "lagging behind" competitors in some aspects so to speak.

And as long as we continue to do that and the stockholders are fat and happy, there is no reason for Apple to change the way they are currently operating.

But this is what I think.....Apple's continued accelerated growth isn't going to last very much longer. They're growing very fast and they will soon plateau or start to taper off as other manufacturers find better ways to compete with Apple. It's inevitable. At that point Apple may or may not begin to change the way they've been operating which will either help them or hurt them. Who knows!

That's what I see coming and it's all just opinion so hopefully Apple fans won't get to offended.

Thoughts?

[bigfahrter]

I'm completely buying this... iPhone 3GS all over again. I unpeeled a little more circumstantial evidence which strongly suggests he's right this over last few days... 4 owners - go buy a brand new Apple bumper case. make sure it isn't one that was sitting on the shelf for a long time. toss it on your 4 and compare to your old bumper case - suddenly the slot for the silent switch is significant little bit too big and not at all centered on the switch. the top pass-through button for the sleep button doesn't really work right - it's too sensitive for how far out the 4's button sticks. the case in general is SORTA compatible w/ the 4, but like it's made for an almost-the-same-but-not-quite different model. aka the 4S/5/wahtever. clearly they are pre-loading the channel w/ compatible accessories (and BTW this 3GS/4S routine is a happy happy for their accessory making partners who don't have to redesign quite so much or as often...)I'm sure some conspiracy theory black helicopter fanboiz will have some explanation for why this is not at all meaningful and that their dream iPhone 5 is still coming with a new amazing design made out of purified angel f@rts and unicorn pubes that will cure cancer on your grandmother while you play MMO's using the on-board hologram projector and body movement sensor. but I'd bet $$ it's a sure sign the new one is going to be this almost-but-not-quite-identical form factor.

[PoEtikly]

Error

[stickyd8]

I'm completely buying this... iPhone 3GS all over again. I unpeeled a little more circumstantial evidence which strongly suggests he's right this over last few days... 4 owners - go buy a brand new Apple bumper case. make sure it isn't one that was sitting on the shelf for a long time. toss it on your 4 and compare to your old bumper case - suddenly the slot for the silent switch is significant little bit too big and not at all centered on the switch. the top pass-through button for the sleep button doesn't really work right - it's too sensitive for how far out the 4's button sticks. the case in general is SORTA compatible w/ the 4, but like it's made for an almost-the-same-but-not-quite different model. aka the 4S/5/wahtever. clearly they are pre-loading the channel w/ compatible accessories (and BTW this 3GS/4S routine is a happy happy for their accessory making partners who don't have to redesign quite so much or as often...)I'm sure some conspiracy theory black helicopter fanboiz will have some explanation for why this is not at all meaningful and that their dream iPhone 5 is still coming with a new amazing design made out of purified angel f@rts and unicorn pubes that will cure cancer on your grandmother while you play MMO's using the on-board hologram projector and body movement sensor. but I'd bet $$ it's a sure sign the new one is going to be this almost-but-not-quite-identical form factor.

This is false. The bumpers were altered when the Verizon iPhone came out b/c of slightly different positioned buttons. Apple better have a new design for the iPhone5 (or at least slightly different) after holding out 16 months on a new iPhone.

[Amadomon]

they did the same thing with the iphone 3g to 3gs same design just that the 3gs had betta specs With all these rumors and speculation of a new redesign i will actually not be surprised if the form factor is the same as the iphone 4 except maybe a bigger screen and betta specs. But if the phone does look the same and ppl buy it i will shove it in their faces because i will get the iphone 6 the one that is getting the redesign most likely and tell them u are dumb for not waiting to get the redesigned better spec iphone 6

Yeah, you be sure to tell people they're dumb. I'm sure they'll thank you for your insight. Some of us care more about performance than appearance. The 3GS was a big step up over the 3G. If Apple comes out with a 4S with the same form factor but more RAM and a better processor, I'm buying it. I like the look of the 4.

[PoEtikly]

I agree, better processor and more RAM would be great. I also like the look of the iPhone 4 and I NEVER had any issues with the antenna.

BUT!

I just don't believe that a NEW iPhone is coming in the very near future. Everybody has been making their own release dates, specs, etc... and nobody knows anything. I believe that Apple would be advertising the hell out of a new iPhone and taking preorders if it was going to be released before Christmas (at least). And I'm very confused if it's going to be a 4s or 5, because as we've seen in the past the iOS usually has dictated the phone (iOS 4 = iPhone 4), so I'm not sure why they would release a 4s with a iOS 5. You would think they'd do a 4.5 or something along those lines. So in a way I do believe it'll be a 5, which you would think would have a redesign. Nobody really knows but in my opinion I just don't think we will see a new iPhone in the very near future. Apple has achieved exactly what they always wanted though. Nobody is working on any exploits until iOS 5. So from Apples view, this has been a very smart move. Release the iOS 5 Betas so everybody thinks a new phone and operating system is near so hackers will be occupied with working on exploits for that, but in the meantime, they don't have to waste $ on updates like 4.3.5. Then in the meantime Apple has everybody making their own release dates, specs, etc... They may even be behind some of the false rumors. It keeps everybody waiting for the new and leaving the current alone. Pretty damn smart if you ask me.

[cashyy]

Apple could of at least done something a tad different, 512mb ram? Please, that's boring. Dual core that baby, and give it a bigger screen, then I will give it the "WOW" factor.

[mmaboi21]

The reason they don't make big changes so frequently is because we the consumers are giving them the perfect reason NOT to......we're continuing to buy their products in mass numbers despite the fact that they may be "lagging behind" competitors in some aspects so to speak.

And as long as we continue to do that and the stockholders are fat and happy, there is no reason for Apple to change the way they are currently operating.

But this is what I think.....Apple's continued accelerated growth isn't going to last very much longer. They're growing very fast and they will soon plateau or start to taper off as other manufacturers find better ways to compete with Apple. It's inevitable. At that point Apple may or may not begin to change the way they've been operating which will either help them or hurt them. Who knows!

That's what I see coming and it's all just opinion so hopefully Apple fans won't get to offended.

Thoughts?

I'm a huge apple fan(not offended)



There is a lot of great points that I totally agree with, especially that apple cannot keep up the same pace forever. Trends, that's what apple has right now but like you said it is inevitable and they will plateau. Who knows where it will lead but competition is always better for us consumers. Although the way apple has been able to grab consumers with their "wow" factor and user friendly interface might just seal the deal for people who have been effected by it; me being one of them. I'm an "I" guy If you will... The chances of me switching to another mobile handset is pretty much slim to none. People love simplicity, combine that with touchscreen capability, beautiful design,FaceTime and You've got a fanboy. I'm very interested in seeing where apple is going to take the company in the future. Nobody knows and that's what's exciting. Nice perspective RICO_

Apple could of at least done something a tad different, 512mb ram? Please, that's boring. Dual core that baby, and give it a bigger screen, then I will give it the "WOW" factor.

I think 512 mb of ram is very comfortable. I would love the dual core though, that and the bigger screen PLUS that beautiful pic in the article of the Metal back with the curve would give me me the wow factor.

[reanimationxp]

"It's an assertion we've heard time and again."It's also an article I've read again and again. Messany(TM).

[mcnatprice]

^^^lol people will get this iPhone "4s" or "5" no matter what, and they will get the iPhone 6. If people want to upgrade every year or every time a new iPhone is released, i think they should be able to do that without being called "dumb". justsaying.

Also there are a lot of people who did not upgrade to the iPhone 4 and still have their 3G or 3GS and an iPhone 4S or whatever it will be will be a very nice upgrade for those users. Just because you don't need an upgrade, does not mean that other people dont.

Not only am I still using my 3GS...my daughter is using my original iPhone I got on day 2 of it's release! They are both working perfectly and have required no repairs (except the screen I broke on my 3GS which I replaced myself) I am willing to play the waiting game and will decide if I will upgrade with the next iteration or wait until the following version, I'm in no big hurry!

[dcgore]

I think we'll see a form factor. I don't believe apple would've waited this long to release the newer phone if all it had to do is put the A5 chip in it.

[twitchthecat]

I'd upgrade my iPhone 4 to the 4s just on the hope they fixed the anttena issues. I am so tired of dropping calls and poor reception with the iPhone 4.

[DukeJester]

If there is no RAM or storage capacity increase over the current iPhone 4 then IMHO it won't be worth the extra money to get the newest phone. I'll just go from my 3GS to a cheaper iP4.

The 3GS doubled the RAM and I believe doubled the storage capacity options over the 3G model, which made everyone want to get the new one. The iP4 then doubled the RAM over the 3GS in addition to the new screen, design change, etc. But if the new model doesn't double the RAM and/or storage over the current model I think they may have a flop on their hands. Sure people will still buy it, but it probably won't be in demand AS MUCH as the iP4 was last summer.

Yo PatrickGSR94,

Good point you have there. There have always been a doubled-up in RAM capacity, but why not this time? Has it got something do with Iphone 5? If this release is really called Iphone 4S.

As I think, market is now introducing a lot of handsets with 1GB RAM. But why Iphone new Gen is not?

May have to think twice.

[sirlance0505]

If no design change, then I'm still perfectly happy with my nicely tweaked 3Gs. I guess I'll have to wait some more.

Well this just made things a little more interesting
http://www.redmondpie.com/case-mate-...-design-image/

[THUGGEDOUT1]

Apple could of at least done something a tad different, 512mb ram? Please, that's boring. Dual core that baby, and give it a bigger screen, then I will give it the "WOW" factor.

Same here, but I aint waiting, went ahead and got the iP4 earlier this month which tied me in for 2 years. Be interesting from now till then, especially when they prolly release a iP7 by that time...