8 iPhone 5 Features and Improvement Rumors

Enjoy this short list of rumored Apple iPhone 5 improvements and features. Most of this is probably bogus, but there’s no harm in guessing. Of course don’t hesitate to rage on these rumors or create your own in the comments section below!

1 iPhone 5 will have RFID chip

This rumor really seems to stick as most plausible. An RFID chip in the iPhone 5 might make it into a payment device like a credit card. It could also function as a form of identification like an ID or security card.

Wikipedia’s definition of RFID:

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses communication via radio waves to exchange data between a reader and an electronic tag attached to an object, for the purpose of identification and tracking. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader. –Wikipedia

Additionaly, Apple might throw in remote desktop usage through NFC (Near Field Communication). A good explanation of this can be found on TUAW.com:

Kahney’s source said that Apple is working on a way of letting Mac users simply wave their NFC iPhone near an NFC-equipped Mac, and that other machine suddenly acquires the personality of their home or office Mac. If NFC Macs become commonplace in hotel rooms, offices, and other public locations, you wouldn’t need to carry even a lightweight MacBook Air with you. Just with a wave of your NFC iPhone 5, you’d have your computer anywhere that there was a Mac. –TUAW.com

2 iPhone 5 will be released early 2011

It’s actually not hard to believe this as truth. Apple might really want to fix the fiasco of the antenna issue. Although most of this was pure hype, the image of the iPhone 4 with “antenna-gate” has stuck since and an early release of Generation 5 might be able to fix that.

3 iPhone 5 will have no antenna issues

As mentioned in rumor number 2, this should be one of the first things for Apple to fix. The fact that these antenna issues aren’t actually any worse than the 3rd generation of the iPhone (or any other phone for that matter) this shouldn’t be too hard to fix.

4 iPhone 5 will be super flat

There have been some designs, especially the one by Handyflash below, that suggest that the iPhone 5 will be as flat as a penny. Besides the fact that the designer admits this is just his idea of a new generation iPhone, such a thin phone really wouldn’t be cool at all. I can already feel the sharp edges slicingmy palm on a cold winter day.

5 iPhone 5 will have 3.7 or even 4 inch screen

Most likely rubbish, because Apple can still be very proud of the current, high-resolution Retina screen on the iPhone 4. No value in making this bigger or different at all just yet.

6 There will be an iPhone 5 Mini or even Nano

Apparently there have been rumors about a tiny iPhone for quite some time now. I really don’t know what an iPhone 5 Mini or Nano would add to Apple’s current simple line-up because you’d still have to hold the device to your ear. Who wants to be seen talking into such a small phone these days?

7 iPhone 5 will have 4G network connectivity

Perhaps. Too bad most country’s mobile networks aren’t ready at all for anything like 4G. This would be more likely for at least one later generation. Can’t wait for some better speed and connectivity though.

8 iPhone 5 will have no or Custom SIM card

It appears most carriers would be against such a development. Here’s why:

A SIM is provided by a carrier, who then activates the phone and the SIM has the client’s info on it. Should the iPhone have had a SIM, carriers were concerned that people would agree to shorter service agreements and be able to change companies easier. They were even more concerned that it would make Apple a mobile virtual network operator or MVNO.

An MVNO is a company that provides cell phone services, but has no spectrum of their own. Instead, they rent a spectrum and run it under their own name. One such company is Virgin Mobile. –Toptechreviews.net