iPhone 5 rumors already percolating

|
Newscom
iPhone 5 rumors are spreading across the blogosphere. Here, the Apple iPhone 4.

Rumors, buzz, release, repeat. For the past few years, most Apple releases have followed that simple (and predictable) formula – rumors build (most of them correct); the buzz roars through the blogosphere; Apple finally launches the device in question, quashing all speculation; and then a new device looms on the horizon, which provides plenty of grist for the tech gossip mill.

The last couple cycles have been big ones: The iPhone 4, the Verizon iPhone, the iPad 2. And now, it looks like we're ready to start the cycle up all over again. According to a handful of new reports, the Apple iPhone 5 – which would presumably be released sometime this summer – is already in the works, and the next generation iPhone could be equipped by Apple with NFC technology.

ALSO SEE: Verizon iPhone? Check. Sprint and T-Mobile iPhone? Maybe.

NFC – the acronym stands for near field technology – allows users to "swipe" their smartphones, as they do with credit cards or subway passes. (The Nexus S smartphone is already equipped with NFC tech.) An example: You could use your smartphone to pay for groceries at the supermarket; the NFC unit in the phone would interface with a receiver at the store, and your bank account would be charged automatically.

Fun! (And a little scary.) Over at Forbes, Elizabeth Woyke says manufacturers are "gearing up for the additional NFC traffic the iPhone 5 will bring."

"From what I hear, it is possible the iPhone 5 will include NFC. An entrepreneur who is working on a top-secret NFC product told me today that he believes the iPhone 5 will have NFC and cited a friend who works at Apple as a reliable source for the information," Woyke writes. "To further bolster his statement, the entrepreneur said that manufacturers of NFC readers – whom he has been talking to for his own product – also expect the iPhone 5 to have NFC."

For more tech news, sign up for the free Innovation newsletter, which is emailed out every Wednesday morning.

RELATED: Verizon iPhone versus AT&T iPhone: The top three differences

You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to iPhone 5 rumors already percolating
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/Horizons/2011/0323/iPhone-5-rumors-already-percolating
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us