As 2012 is approaching anxiety is on its peak. Those who have waited for iPhone 5 all this time will witness a newly styled Apple iPhone with a complete design overhaul next year. DigiTimes has reported that all Apple products; iPad, iMac, iPhone and MacBook Air will get a fresh look in the coming year. After this long record of creating aluminium products with brushed metals and shiny materials involvement this could be the first time Apple would be changing its design philosophy for its next generation products.

This October people were desperately waiting for iPhone 5 after a long break of one and a half year since the last iPhone was launched. The rumors and speculations had done their part by reporting every bit of iPhone 5 news and generating a never ending curiosity about expected features and relative design. But unfortunately next gen Smartphone never showed up and all hopes were dashed. iPhone 4S, a mocked upgrade to iPhone 4, called for general disappointment and rage. So if the Cupertino giant wants to maintain its fan following it will have to ripen the best from its farm this time.

iPhone 5 Against iPhone 4S  

iPhone 4S was timely placed but wrongly made. The only significant improvement from its previous version is the assistive voice control feature; Siri. And a faster operating system that enables proper working of the phone. What is surprising though, the handset is facing frequent issues there is no stopping people from queuing up at Apple stores and placing massive orders. 4S has sold out of record; 1 million units were sold in just 24 hours of the launch day. Somehow, Apple knows how to play its cards right and so iPhone 4S has not gone out of news ever since it released. But dedicated Apple fans will always be keen to gather information on iPhone 5.

The news that DigiTimes has shared conveys that Apple has purchased hoards of key parts for the next iPhone and iPad devices whose inventories are enough for the production of two million iPhone units. The list of devices that may apply these changes includes iPhone, iPad, iMac and MacBook. On this note, DigiTimes quotes,

“Apple’s new generation iPad will enter mass production soon with the launch set for March 2012, according to sources from the upstream supply chain; however, the sources revealed that internally Apple does not view the new iPad product as iPad 3, but rather an upgraded iPad 2 and the real iPad 3 will not be launched until the third quarter of 2012 at the earliest.”

The New Look and Design

There is strong intuition that iPhone 5 and iPad 3 will feature new metallic designs, courtesy LiquidMetal Technologies. This is a company that entered into a deal with Apple Inc. August 2010 and transferred all its intellectual rights to the Cupertino techie. The license extends to a new patented metallic glass substance used in consumer electronic products. This new metal alloy has fascinating properties -

• Superior elastic limit
• High hardness
• High corrosion resistance
• High yield strength
• High wear-resistance
• Superior Strength/Weight Ratio
• Unique Acoustical Properties
• Low shrinkage rate

Last year there was news that Apple could employ this technology in the making of SIM card remover, the antennae and even iPhone battery. A report having details of Apple’s fuel cell patent had surfaced then. The cell makes use of Liquidmetal as an internal component.

If the current hype is to be believed, Apple might utilize this liquidmetal patent in creating a bendable iPhone . Below are the other specifications on iPhone 5 rumor mill:

1. Bigger Screen- If iPhone 5 comes at all it will feature a bigger screen definitely. This will solve many issues like gaming, typing and movie watching on a wider screen. The most likely option is a 4 inch or 4.3 inch screen.
2. Better Design- This time there are no leaked images as yet to suggest the look of next iPhone. However, it is wished to be slimmer and light weight with a smart bezel. Users of other smartphones like Galaxy complain that iPhone 4S is too bulky for its features.
3. 4G Connectivity- It is quite likely that iPhone 5 will be based on LTE support . High speed download and upload are understood specifications.
4. Metal Casing- New phone will be covered by sturdy metal encasing hopefully liquidmetal, as discussed above. If this happens, users wont need to spend extra on iPhone 5 cases and a scratch proof screen will add to the gaming fun.

Seems 2012 will be the year of reincarnation of Apple iPhone. Speculations apart, Apple CEO Tim Cook once admitted that a 4G enabled iPhone will demand a complete design overhaul and availability of trustworthy connection. So, if Verizon gets ready to serve iPhone 5 with seamless internet accessibility the next quarter, we can possibly become proud owners of iPhone 5 soon!