For all those that don’t obsessively follow the Apple news and rumor sites, I’ll summarize it for you. I’m hoping to keep this list updated.
iPhone
- Apple will be announcing the iPhone 5 on September 12th (See invitation sent to the press)
- It will be available in stores on September 21st (based on Verizon employee’s blackout schedule)
- It will have a new, smaller dock connector (source)
- The device size will be identical to the iPhone 4, but the screen will be slightly taller, making it a 16x9 aspect ratio
- It will support the faster LTE cellphone networks
- Apple is following the Intel tick/tock release pattern of alternating major version updgrades and then incremental improvements: iPhone 3 / iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 / iPhone 4s, iPhone 5. Expect an iPhone 5s next year.
iPad
- Apple will announce a new, smaller (7”) iPad in October source
- It will be cheaper than the current iPads.
iOS 6
- Developers already have it - public release before the end of the year.
- It replaces Google Maps with a new Apple Maps app. (Apple bought several mapping startups over the last few years for this)
- It will have Facebook integration
- Facetime over the cell network! (AT&T will be limiting this to customers with shared data plans)
- New “Passbook” app for paperless flight tickets, concert and movie tickets, etc., but no NFC.
Mac OSX
- Apple will be releasing a new version every year going forward, also following the tick/tock pattern. Major new version every other year, and incremental upgrades in between: Leopard / Snow Leopard, Lion / Mountain Lion. Expect a new cat next year.
Retina Display
- I expect all Apple products to eventually have retina display - but this may take a few years.
Sources
If you’d like to stay up-to-date, here are a few blogs I recommend which do a good job of filtering out the noise and making smart and informed predictions:
Many sites publish Apple rumors, but a lot of them trade accuracy for page views and will publish unconfirmed or sometimes even silly rumors.