The iPhone 5 will be revealed by Apple in less than two weeks, according to a new report.
October 4 is the date set for Apple’s next media event, reports AllThingsD. while the last three iterations of the phone were revealed during the month of June these past three years, this summer has come and gone with no official word on what’s widely expected to be the iPhone 5. There have been rumors for months about whether we’d see an enhanced “S” version of the iPhone 4 or a full-on iPhone 5, but the consensus has largely been for some time now that we’ll be seeing the iPhone 5 at the very least, possibly alongside the introduction of an enhanced, low-priced iPhone 4 model.
The event is likely to feature Apple’s new CEO, Tim Cook. Steve Jobs resigned last month as he continues to battle health issue, leading to the promotion of Cook, who had been the company’s COO and Jobs’ right-hand man.
Following the October 4 event, the phone would be available “within a few weeks,” according to AllThingsD, but given how late in the year it’s launching, it could be even sooner. Fortune notes how much quicker the company has been to get new models of the iPhone and iPad out after announcing them in recent years; the original iPhone was announced 201 days before launch, whereas we only had to wait 11 and 17 days for the 3GS and 4, respectively. The iPad, similarly, had a 66-day gap between its announcement and release compared with just a 9-day wait for the iPad 2 earlier this year.
in addition to the announcement of the phone itself, the iPhone is expected to land on at least one new carrier. Sprint and T-Mobile are among those that have been rumored, and while the former seems very likely, T-Mobile’s Cole Brodman has shot the possibility down in an alleged internal memo where he wrote, “We are not going to get the iPhone 5 this year.”
Rumored changes the iPhone 5 will see include an upgraded processor, a better camera, and a redesigned exterior. Exactly what’s right and what isn’t is hard to say; the new design seems to be backed up by an inadvertent posting for iPhone 5 cases on Case-Mate’s website recently, but it looks like we won’t have to bother with guesswork for much longer.